"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the Earth and everything in it will be laid bare." (2 Peter 3:9-10)
Peter gives us reasons why he has written about these things. He says it is "to stimulate you to wholesome thinking" and "to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." Approximately three-hundred times, Jesus spoke of his second coming. In view of this fact, the Lord's Church must intensify its efforts to win the lost, as well as prepare for his coming.
In today's troubled world, much of humanity senses something ominous on the horizon. All around the globe there is a great deal of hopelessness, despair, loneliness, depression, confusion, purposelessness, fear and uncertainty. The Bible says there is coming a time of global problems "with perplexity" and "men's hearts failing them for fear" (Luke 21:25).
The world is in desperate need of a spiritual awakening, and Christ is our only hope. Paul wrote these words: "But mark this: there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of selves and money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than of God" (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
We have these prophetic words and many more like them throughout the Bible. I grew up in the environment of the church and heard powerful preaching from the pulpits. As far back as I can remember, even as a little boy in the late 1940s and early '50s, I was enthralled with such preaching. It had my rapt attention. The power of hearing God's uncompromising word being preached in all its glory and power in my younger days has served to stay with me and encourage me in my life's journey of faith.
Some modern-day psychology suggests that preaching on the subjects of end-times or a real hell or healthy fear of God is somehow harmful to young minds. Since these things are from God and he wants them preached, such psychology is simply unfounded. According to Peter, the value to being reminded of the day of the Lord is to help us think in a more morally beneficial and right way.
There is coming upon Earth, a time of cataclysmic upheaval when the very foundations of the Earth will be severely shaken, and the judgments of God will pour out on humanity. There is going to be a major impact on not only the Earth, but the atmosphere and heavens as elements melt in an inferno of fire and heat. If we had no choice but to be here and go through these terrible events, it would truly be a frightening scenario bringing a terrible fear beyond anything
our minds could bear to think about. But in the same Bible that warns us of these times that are coming, there is also great news to thrill our hearts and minds. All is not hopeless. Peter reminds us that God will unleash his holy wrath upon creation in order to pave the way for a better world cleansed and unspoiled by sin. But Peter also reminds us that this same God patiently gives every human soul the opportunity to be saved. No one need go through the terror of the events of the day of the Lord that are fast approaching if he or she will but turn to God in repentance and put their faith in Christ. We get a glimpse of God's loving heart when we read that he wants all to know him and be one of his children. Knowing destruction is coming to this world, we are encouraged to live "holy and godly lives" and to even welcome the day of the Lord.
Many today resist the idea of needing to repent of their sins. They think that whatever they decide to be acceptable behavior is perfectly fine and they don't need to answer to God. To them, the idea of anything being sinful is an archaic idea and consequently they do not sense any need to repent. God says differently. God "commands all people everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30).
The good news is God has promised eternal life to those who accept Christ as Lord and Savior, and "in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new Earth" (2Peter 3:13).
The Rev. Jim Wheeler Sr. is an Assemblies of God Evangelist.
Columns
Powerful preaching encourages life's journey of faith
- Big Chuck D'Imperio
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Upstate theme parks offered affordable thrills
I saw in the news last week that Disney theme parks are raising admission prices to almost $100 a person. Children (who Uncle Walt considers 10 and under) are now $86 a day.
Continued ... - Getting creative with gifts for grads
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Upstate theme parks offered affordable thrills
- Cary Brunswick
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Book-banning has a tendency to backfire
So what does the 1960s game show ``What's My Line'' got to do with the Bloomsday festivities occurring in Dublin, Ireland, this week? Surprisingly, there is a link.
Continued ... - Envisioning a world without terror
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Book-banning has a tendency to backfire
- Chuck Pinkey
- Guest Column
- Lisa Miller
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A view from above
Fire towers in the Catskill Mountains have always been destination points, built to capture some of the region’s best views. These sentinel stations served an important role for the earliest possible sightings of forest fires in the remote mountain ranges. But the fire towers and those who manned them fulfilled a multitude of other roles as well.
Continued ... - Being a parent is a constant learning process
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- A family era ends with close of Potter series
- Independent stores make up for loss of Borders
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- Mark Simonson
- Rick Brockway
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Don't play around with snappers
The other day, I was driving along Route 205 between Mount Vision and Hartwick. Suddenly, I had to swerve out of my lane to miss a huge snapping turtle. It was crossing from a large swamp on the left to some higher ground on the other side of the road.
- Emmons Pond Bog is pretty easy to enjoy
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- Waterfalls are even better when you keep them to yourself
- Kids have sparkle in their eyes
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Don't play around with snappers
- Sam Pollak
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Justice Dept., IRS abuses worth screaming about
"If this had happened while a Republican was president, the liberal media would be screaming."
Continued ... - THIS WEEK'S POLL
- Using time off in the worst way possible
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Justice Dept., IRS abuses worth screaming about
- William Masters
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Schreibman tops Chris Gibson on women's issues
As the time to vote draws near, we need to remember how money can run politics more than we can. Raising funds is a prominent (if not the dominant) task of getting elected. Raising issues is also crucial, but those efforts are subject to distortion and fear-mongering.
- Republicans feelentitled to allthey can garner An entitlement is a legal benefit available from the government to individuals who are within a defined category of recipients, such as needing insurance for unemployment or health services.
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Romney focuses on self; Obama emphasizes unity
Mitt Romney criticizes President Obama for saying a person's success is rooted in his community, and is not all his alone. Romney belittles this with his belief in individual initiative. He is better at the put-down than the push-up.
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Romney shows little regard for common man
The Republicans in Congress have voted over and over, 33 times, redundantly and uselessly, to rescind what they call Obamacare.
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Scouts' gay ban creates problem where none exists
The Boy Scouts of America's "emphatic reaffirmation" of its vow to exclude any and all homosexuals from its hallowed ranks is ill-considered and pathetic, especially in view of its having reviewed the matter for two years.
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Schreibman tops Chris Gibson on women's issues
