Willful Ignorance and the Day of the Lord - Paul Kropf

Good morning and good morning to each one. Preach you

this morning and the name of Jesus, and I trust

our minds that are already stayed on him. It's blessing

to be here this morning to worship with you again.

It seems like it's been been a little while, especially

as I think of the Book of Proverbs. There's so

much wisdom in there, but it seems like we have

to just dig it out well. This morning, I'd like

to go to the Book of Second Peter, chapter three.

If you want to turn with me, you can. I've

been preaching through the books of First and Second Peter

our church, and I'm ready for the last chapter, so

you get the first edition of this message this morning

instead of maybe the same in her third like sometimes

this chapter is I don't know. It's maybe become one

of my favorite chapters in the Bible, and maybe it's

just because of especially toward the end, it's that blessed,

glorious hope of the Christian. I've titled this message Willful

Ignorance and the Day of the Lords. There's a number

of different topics in here. I'd like to look at

the first seven verses to begin with. Then keep going

through the chapter of it, I'd like to just read

the first seven verses Second Peter, Chapter three, the second epistle, Beloved,

I now write unto you both, which I stir up

your pure minds by way of remembrance, that she may

be mindful of the words which spoken before that by

the whole let me start over again, that ye may

be mindful of the words which are spoken before by

the Holy prophets and the commandments of us, the Apostles,

and of the Lord and Savior. Knowing this first, that

there shall come the last day's scoffers, walking after their

own lust, and saying, where is the promise of His coming?

For since the fathers 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. We're by 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, reserved into fire, against

the day of judgment and pradition of ungodly men. First

couple verses there talks about the value of repetition, and

Peter begins this chapter to remind his readers of the

teachings of the Old Testament, prophets, the teachings of the apostles,

and also Jesus himself. What Jesus taught concerning the Lord's

return or the second coming. Peter says, I stir up

your pure minds by way of remembrance. And I think

any teacher, any parent, or maybe any preacher should understand

that the value of repetition. It seems like just to

penetrate our minds. Things need to be said over and over,

because we tend to forget, at least I do. I

can hardly remember what the sermon was last Sunday. It's

just that we need repetition. And Apostle Paul writes to

the Philippians. He says, to write, the same things are

not grievous or irksome, but for you it is safe,

or it's certain. So Christian truth must be repeated again

and again of what we already know. And this morning,

you know, I'm not here to present something new or novel,

but rather to remind you of things that you I'm

sure are aware of that you already know. And maybe

the other reason for a repetition of truth is because

of the contamination of heretical influences that seek to undercut truth.

And Peter, he spent considerable time there in the pre

this chapter describing these false teachers that with feign words

they made merch was wanting to make merchandise of them.

Of the believers there, how many of you like to

be bought and sold? And he goes on to describe

these people with some pretty colorful language, arrogant, self willed eyes,

full of adultery, covetous wells without water, and great swelling

words of vanity, promised liberty, but our servants of corruption

like dogs returning to their own vomit. And that's just

the short list. But Peter desired to stir up their

pure minds so that they were not contaminating, contaminated by

this heresy that was about them. The next thing I'd

like to look get is these last day scoffers. And

maybe we first should define what is meant by the

last days. Yeah, I think we know what the scoffers are.

I believe these last days refer to the period of

time between Christ's resurrection, his ascension, to the second coming,

to the end times, and Jesus said after his departure,

or just before his departure into heaven, he said, lo,

I am with you always, even unto the end of

the world or to the end of the age, and

then he would return again. So the question these scoffers

had was, you know, where is the promise of his coming?

Where is Jesus? You know, Jesus had suggested that his

return could be at any time, and he said he

didn't even know the time it was. The Father knew it. Well.

The apostles believed that Jesus could return at any time

or in their lifetime, and I think they were expecting that.

But now a generation of especially the early Apostles and

the church fathers, had come and it had gone. Many

of them had died, and still Jesus had not returned.

So these scoffers were concluding that, well, Jesus was never

going to come again. You know, the world was going

on precisely the same way as it always had, in

a natural system of cause and effect, and that promise

was so long delayed that it's safe to say now

that it would never be fulfilled. It was just a

dream of the fanatics, not worthy of Syria thought for

men of enlightenment, and they said, you know, all these

things continue just the same as it was in the

beginning of time. You know, I think if these few

scoffers back then promoted that heresy, how much more widespread

is that thinking today, especially maybe among the elite of

the scientific community. You know, the concept of naturalism, of uniformitarianism,

of evolution that over billions and billions of years of

the universe's existence, you know, change occurs very slowly and

through gradual processes, until we have this highly complex ecosystem.

They deny the global catastrophe of the worldwide flood Noah's

Day and the reason for it, now, that was the

judgment of God on a sinful world. A while back,

I think it was maybe his last June. We visited

a fossil shop in Santa Monica, California, and this man

had some amazing rocks and fossilsy had a whole collection,

and we didn't have a lot of time to but

he showed us around. You know, this Triceratops dinosaur is

so many million years old, and you know this rock

this fossil was so many million years old. Well, finally

we told him, you know, we believe that the earth

is a lot younger than that, that they were likely

fossilized during Noah's flood. And you know, he kind of

looked at us, like, you know, where do you guys

come from as arc ages or something. And then he

kept going and he proceeded to tell us, you know,

this was this many million years old, and well, rocks

and fossils are fascinating to me, but his dates didn't

really change my mind. But you know, the reason folks

today do not believe in a worldwide catastrophe such as

the flood is not I don't believe it's just ignorance.

Many times it's a willful ignorance. You know, if they

believe in the great deluge of Noah's day, they would

have to admit that Noah, I mean, that God did

intervene and that God will once again judge the world

with an unprecedented global catastrophe as the Bible predicts. Henry

Morris he was known as maybe one of the fathers

of modern creationism. He was teaching at a secular university

and one of his fellow teachers was an atheist and

occasionally tried to witness to him, and they gave him

several books to read. When it was on the deity

of Christ, another on the divine origin of the Bible,

and the man agreed to read them, and several days

later he angrily returned these books, saying he had changed

his mind. He wasn't going to read it. And he

said something like this, You know, I don't care what

the evidence is. I just don't want to believe. And

I believe that's wilful ignorance. And I think Romans one

talks a lot about that, talks about the coming judgment

on those that hold back truth in unrighteousness Verse nineteen

and twenty. Because that which may be known of God

is manifest in them, for God has showed it unto them.

For the invisible things of Him from the creation of

the world are clearly seen being understood by the things

that are made, even his eternal power, and God had

so that they are without excuse. Willful ignorance is not

really any excuse. Verse five and six talks about the

the earth standing out of the water in the water,

and I'm not sure what all that means, but one

thing I do know is there is evidence of a

worldwide flow around the globe. And even on Mount Everest,

the tallest mountain in the world, about twenty nine thousand

some feet, they find fossils of aquatic animals and seashells.

You know what in the world they're doing there? Well,

the destruction of a flood came about by the word

of God, was not some natural process. Over millions and

millions of years, the Earth standing out or emerging out

of the water and in the water created an undeniable

proof of God's judgment on man's wickedness. Maybe kind of

going down a bunny trail here, But have you ever

wondered where did all the fossil fuels come from? Another?

Billions and billions of gallons of oil deposits that are

under the Earth's surface, and they're under tremendous pressure. We

are told that the Earth's oil reserve should have leaked

to the surface in a period of two hundred thousand years.

It's very much evidence of a younger Earth. What about

the coal deposits that run underground up mountains and down

valleys for thousands of miles, even under the ocean floor.

Where did they come from. Sometimes they're about two inches

thick and other times they're four hundred feet thick. Well,

scientists tell us that oil is made mostly of marine

algae and plankton, and much of coal comes from extinct

trees and vegetation that were le down quickly and squeezed

into place. Oil and coal are just one example of

a worldwide flood and God's intervention. You know, if all

the vegetation in the world today were turned into coal,

it would only provide about ten to twenty percent of

the known coal deposits. Again points to a pre flood

world with extremely lush vegetations and worldwide cataclysm that God

did intervene. You know, the scoffers today haven't changed their

tune a whole lot. Maybe instead of one generation, Christ

does not come now, it's millions and millions of years.

You know, where's the promise of his coming. Nothing has

changed from the beginning, No spirit, supernatural intervention. You know,

any change is just by slow and natural processes over

eons of time Verse seven. But the universe, the heavens

and the earth, these same heavens and earth, by the

same word, and that's God's word, are kept in store.

They are reserved for a fiery judgment. It's not because

the universe kind of needs shaking once in a while,

but it's because of man's rebellion and unbelief against an

almighty God. This judgment by fire was. It was not

just a New Testament concept that or something Peter thought up.

But there are quite a few prophecies in the Old

Testament that speak of judgment by fire. I'll just about

three of them here Isaiah sixty six, verse fifteen. For behold,

the Lord will come with fire and with his chariots

like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and

his rebuke with flames of fire. They am one five

and six. The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt,

and the earth is burned at his presence. See the

world and all the day that dwell therein, Who can

stand his before his indignation, Who can abide in the

fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire,

and the rocks are thrown down by him. And then

Malachi four to one, for behold the day cometh that

shall burn us an oven, All the proud yea and

all that do wickedly shall be stubble, and the day

that cometh shall burn them up. Saith the Lord of hosts,

that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. Well,

there's many more verses we could look at, and I

don't pretend to totally understand these Old Testament prophecies. But

concept of judgment of the fire is not a new Testament.

I mean, not a new concept. It just shows up

in the New Testament. For the Christian. There's something beyond

this destruction. The death agony of the old world is

really only the birth pangs of a new and glorious world.

We'll talk about that a little later. Next thing I'd

like to look at is what is the reason. It's

maybe in a question for him, what's the reason for

the delay of Christ's return? Or say to nine, But beloved,

be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day

is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a

thousand years is one day. The Lord is not slack

concerning his promise. Some men count slackness, but is long

suffering to us. We're not willing that any should perish,

but that all should come to repentance. I have about

four reasons here for Christ's delight and for us today,

two thousand years later. I believe the answers are still

the same as they were in Peter's time. Why has

Christ not returned? The first reason is that God does

not measure time as man measures it. In Psalm ninety

verse four, it says, for a thousand years in thy sight,

or as bad as yesterday, when it has passed, and

as a watch in the night. You know, to us,

a thousand years it's a long time. To God, it's

like Saturday yesterday, just to watch in the night. You know.

When we think about the world's hundreds thousands of years

and time past, and it's easy to feel kind of,

kind of dwarfed into insignificance. We think about the slowness

of human progress, we can almost become cynical. You know,

what's the reason for all the wars, the human suffering,

the destructive powers of man, the violence, the wickedness. But

there's comfort. I believe in the thought of an eternal

God who has all eternity to accomplish his work and

his purposes. And then against the backdrop of eternity we

begin to see reality. God is simply above and beyond

the sphere of time. You know, to us, sometimes it

appears that God just is working way too slowly in

the face of maybe human suffering, sickness, disease, or maybe

it says believers are facing persecution or long imprisonments in

our impatience, in our impatience, you know, you know, isn't

it time for God to act? You know, a long

delay in the eyes of man is not really long

at all in the eyes of an eternal one. Well,

the second reason for God's delay is actually his mercy

and his patience. You know, his timetable is exceedingly patient

and long suffering. He's not willing that any should perish,

but that all should come to repentance. Now, God has

given men a choice, choice to be saved, a choice

to reject him and his plan of salvation. Some have

attempted to make this verse to mean that ultimately everyone

is going to be saved, But nowhere does scripture teach

a universal salvation. And even though God is a loving

God doesn't wish to see anyone perish. God is also

a god of justice, and he cannot ignore those who

reject this great salvation. There will be no escape from

his justice and God takes no joy in the death

of the wicked. Well, the third thing we glean here

from this passage is that time is regarded as an opportunity.

It's your opportunity, it's my opportunity, opportunity for repentance, opportunity

to serve God and to grow more like him. The

fourth thing I see is, and I'm kind of jumping

ahead to the next verses, but is that a long

delay must never lull us into a false sense of security.

Verse ten, it says the Lord, the day of the

Lord will come. It will come unexpectedly, like a thief

in the night. And the fact that events are taking

their usual course. It's continued that way for thousands of years.

It's no proof that Jesus will not return. You know,

when Jesus came into the world the first time as

a baby. We'll think about that this time of the year.

It was predicted, it was foretold. Many of its own

people totally missed it. This next great event, no one

is going to miss. Revelation one seven. Behold he cometh

with clouds. Every eye shall see him, and they also

which pierced him, And all kindreds of the earth shall

wail because of Him. Even so, Amen, And so let's

look now this great and terrible day of the Lord

Verses ten to sixteen. I wasn't quite sure where to

break in here. But the day of the Lord will

come as a thief in the night, in which the

heavens shall pass away with the great noise, and the

elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also,

and the works that are therein shall be burnt up.

Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, are destroyed,

what manner of persons ought you to be in all

holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the

coming of the 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 new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, Beloved,

seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent, 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 her beloved brother Paul, according

to the wisdom given him, hath written and you, And

as also is all his epistles speaking in them of

these things, in which are some things hard to be understood,

which day that are unlearned and unstable. Rest as they

do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. This

day of the Lord, it's a New Testament doctrine of

the second coming of Jesus Christ. But I think this

Day of the Lord is not It's again, it's not

just a new concept. Now. The Jews, i believe, looked

at time in two ages, the present age and the

coming Golden Age. The present age was beyond fixing, it's

very evil, and the age to come was the Golden

Age of God. Of what was going to bring about

the bridge of this gap from one to the other.

Obviously it was not by human effort that had already

failed miserably. This Golden Age, they said, would come by

a direct intervention of God. And that's why they called

it the Day of the Lord. A couple verses from

the Old Testament, and again you can see that this

was not just a New Testament concept or Peter's idea.

Isaiah thirteen nine to eleven. Behold the Day of the

Lord cometh cruel, both with wrath and fierce anger to

lay the land desolate, and he shall destroy it sinners

out of it. For the stars of heaven and the

constellations thereof shall not give their light, and the sun

shall be darkened and his going forth, and the moon

shall not cause her light to shine. And I will

punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for

their iniquity. And I will cause the arrogancy of the

proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of

the terrible and verse thirteen. Therefore, while I shake the heavens,

and the earth shall remove out of her place, and

the wrath of the Lord in the wrath of the

Lord of hosts, in the day of his fierce anger,

another prophet from Joel two, verse thirty and thirty one.

And I will show wonders in heaven and in the earth,

blood and fire and pillars of smoke. Sun shall be

turned into darkness, and the moon into blood before that

great and terrible day of the Lord come. And then

zephy and I one fourteen and verse eighteen. The great

day of the Lord is near. Is it is near?

And hasteth greatly even the voice of the Day of

the Lord the Mighty, men shall cry bitterly neither verse eighteen,

neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to

deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath, But

the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of

his jealousy. He shall make even a speedy riddance of

all them that dwell in the land. Jesus also prophesied

in Luke chapter twenty one, verse twenty five, there shall

be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and

in the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations,

with reply, the sea and the waves roaring men's hearts,

failing them for fear, for looking after those things which

are coming on the earth. For the powers of heaven

shall be shaken. And then shall the Sun of Man coming.

Then shall they see the Sun of Man coming in

cloud with power and great glory. And when these things

begin to come to pass, then look up, lift up

your heads. Your redemption draw nigh again the golden age

that was coming well. Peter here describes this stay of

the Lord. First of all, it was going to be sudden, unexpected.

Those who presume to take God's delay as a time

to do as they please are going to be jolded

into reality. There's going to be no escape, no second chances. Secondly,

these heavens will pass away with a great crashing roar.

We can only imagine the stars crashing together. And Thirdly,

God's going to set this world on fire. And this

is no ordinary fire. It says the heavens are going

to be on fire. The elements shall melt with fervent heat.

That's not just a natural wind down of the universe

or some man made nuclear holocaust. Rather, it's a direct

intervention of God according to his sovereign will and his plan.

It's time of terror for those who have rejected Christ.

Revelation chapter six twelve to seventeen. I'm not going to

turn there. Take time to read that, but it says

that heaven shall be folded up like a scroll. People

are going to hide. Call for the rocks and the

mountains to cover them. Then, in verse seventeen says, for

his wrath is common, who shall be able to stand well?

The next point here is a day of anticipation for many.

It's not going to be a day of anticipation for

the Christian, says verse twelve, looking for and hasting into

the coming of the Day of the Lord, the Day

of God. It's a day of hope, it's a day

to anticipate. It's the fulfillment of God's promises, creation of

a new heaven and a new Earth. Well, how's this

all going to take place? Well, that's I read different commentaries,

and I think a lot of them have different ideas.

But I believe that God has all power to recreate

the heavens and the earth just as he pleases, like

he did the first time. What will it be like. Well,

in this new place, new heaven and new Earth, everyone

is going to please God. Everyone is going to be

right with God. It's a place of universal peace. There's

going to be no temptations to allure, no sindy defile.

The effects of the curse are going to be gone.

Will experience new and immortal bodies. In Romans chapter eight,

verse twenty one to twenty three, it says, because the

creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of

corruption into a glorious liberty of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation groweth and travaileth

and pain together, until now not only they, but ourselves also,

which have the first fruits of the spirit. Even we

grown within ourselves waiting for the adoption to with the

redemption of our body. You know, as we get older,

I think we start to groan a little more, maybe

a little louder. But our new bodies are going to

be free from suffering and pain. And as Christians were

not only anticipating the day of the Lord, were to

be hastening it on, how can we hasten the day

of the Lord? Well, I'm not sure if we can

do that, But Jesus taught us to pray Thy Kingdom come.

Are we praying for God's kingdom to come? As our

heart awaiting that coming king? Are we ready for that

door to just swing open? I believe another way to

hasten to day. Peter's very practical here is to give

diligence to make our calling and election. Sure, he says,

because of that great anticipation, that great and terrible day

of the Lord, what manner of persons ought you to

be all holy living in godliness? And he says, be

diligent to be fond of Him in peace, without spot

and blameless. Are we in Christ with all our strength,

our mind, our soul, And I think we need to

be if we're going to be a dweller in that

new world. And Peter makes this duty very plain here understandable.

In verse fifteen, he mentions again the long suffering of

God is really our salvation. You know this morning, where

would you be? Where would I be without the long

suffering of God's mercy and grace. And Peter says here

that Apostle Paul had also written about this, and I

believe he also experienced that. And Romans toofore despises how

the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long suffering,

not knowing the goodness of God lenathy to repentance. Then

he goes on there to talk about the difficulty of

Paul's writings. I believe Peter recognized the value of Peter's

of Paul's writings, and especially around that time, I think

they were widely accepted in the early church there. But

I think we need to remember that Paul was a

pretty educated man, and maybe sometimes educated men speak ambiguously.

I know that's a big word. I not an educated man,

but it means that it can be understood in more

than one way. But it's very tragic when men twist

the meaning of scripture and are eager to have it

say what they wanted to say. And some people were

evidently doing just that, and Peter says, to their own destruction.

We was g. K. Chesterson once said that orthodoxy is

like walking a narrow mountain ridge. One step to either

side is a step of disaster. So we overstress one side,

and at once destructive heresy emerges. And I think that

was maybe a little bit what was happening there. They

took this liberty in Christ and they ran with it,

and it became their bondage, their destruction. And you know,

today maybe we talked about this ditch of legalism. It

scares a lot of people, and so they jump into

the other ditch and basically end up in the world.

So may God help us stay the course and not

be among those that twist scripture to their own destruction. Okay,

the next the last two verses there, Peter's final warning

is exhortation. There says ye there, for 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, what we have heard the

saying to be forewarned is to be forearmed. You know,

this morning, I don't think any one of us here

can plead ignorance. We know the way of truth, we

know what's right, we know the way of wrong, and

it's disaster that follows. And I believe we know that

Christian life is is a great responsibility. It's it's the

way of the cross. He says, Beware lest you be

led away. You know, today we have many voices that

are out there calling. You know, I think we have

to beware of what voices we hear. Maybe it's just

the podcast we listen to, you know, the religion of

the Easy Road, that gives a picture here of being led.

Maybe it's kind of like just blindly following the crowd,

or or that hireling shepherd. Beware lest you fall from

your own steadfastness. And I believe this teaching is the

real possibility of losing our salvation end up in God's

fiery judgment, he says, Rather growing and the knowledge and

understanding of our Lord and savor Jesus Christ. And I

believe we do that by letting his word grip our hearts.

I believe we can be that tree that's planted by

the rivers of living water, growing in Christ, bearing fruit,

abundant fruit. Well Peter's conclusion here, putting it in my

words to God be the glory, both now and into

the coming Golden Age, I had to think two of

the words of the apostle John. He said, Even so, come,

Lord Jesus, may each one of us here this morning

be prepared for that great and terrible day of the Lord.

Are you ready? Prayer? That's all in the church Emeral

number two hundred ninety six