EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/28/2025
7:55 PM
My
Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “Intro to “The certainty of
the Second Coming”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
2 Peter
3:1-10
Message of the verses: “1 ¶
Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle, in which I stir up your
pure minds by way of remembrance, 2 to
be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets,
and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 3 knowing
this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking after their own
lusts, 4 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 creation.” 5 For this, they are 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, 6 by which the world that then was,
perished, being flooded with water. 7
But the heavens and the earth, which now are kept by the
same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition
of ungodly men. 8 But, beloved, do not be ignorant of this one thing,
that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his
promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering towards us,
not willing that any should perish but that all men
should come to repentance. 10 But
the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in
which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the
elements will melt with fervent heat; also the earth and the
works in it will be burned up.”
I mentioned in my last SD on the introduction to the
verses found above that it would not take a lot of time to go through it, but
in MacArthur’s introduction to this very important section of Scripture he has
listed many different verses, and because it is my desire to include most of
those verses it will take more time to do this introduction, but I pray that it
will be worth it for those who take the time to read it.
“It also marks the inauguration of
Christ’s earthly kingdom (Rev.
20:6), during which the saints will reign with Him in holiness (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10).”
(Rev. 20:6) “6 ¶ And I looked, and behold, in the midst
of the throne and of the four living beings, and in the midst of the
elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having
seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into
all the earth.”
(2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10).
12 If we endure, We shall also reign with him: If we
deny him, He will also deny us.”
“10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”
“The hope
of bodily resurrection (1 Thess. 4:13-18), spiritual reward (cf. Matt. 25:21, 23), and
righteous a righteous world system (Isa. 9:6-7) are all tied to Jesus’ return.”
(1 Thess. 4:13-18)
13 ¶ But I do not want you to be ignorant,
brethren, concerning those who are fallen asleep, lest you be
sorrowful as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so, God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the
Lord: that we who are alive and remain until the coming of
the Lord will not precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we, who are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore, comfort each other with these
words.”
(cf. Matt. 25:21, 23)
“21 And his lord said to him, ‘Well done, you
good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I shall
make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’”
“23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good
and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I shall make
you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’”
(Isa. 9:6-7)
“6 (9:5) For to us a Child is born, To us a Son is given, And the government will be upon his shoulder. And he will call his name Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 (9:6) Of the increase of the government
and peace There will be no
end, Upon the throne of David and
over his kingdom, To establish it and to
uphold it with justice and righteousness,
From this time forward even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of
hosts will perform this.”
“It is no
wonder, then, that the early church found tremendous comfort in the second
coming. After all, the readers of this epistle
had already endured much persecution from outside the church (cf. 1 Peter
4:12-14).”
(cf. 1
Peter 4:12-14)
“12 ¶ Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the
fiery trial which is to test you, as though some strange
thing happened to you,13 but rejoice to
the extent you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when his glory is
revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of
Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon
you. On their part, he is evil spoken of, but on your part, he is
glorified.”
“Now they
were experiencing internal turmoil from false teachers. Thus, they longed for the return of their
Savior—the Judge who would make all things right (cf. 2 Tim. 4:7-8).”
(cf. 2 Tim. 4:7-8)
“7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished
the course, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that
day, and not to me only but also to all who love his appearing.
“As one
author explains:
The hope
of Christ’s coming was of paramount importance for the early church. In fact, its certainty was so real that
first-century believers would greet one another with the term ‘maranatha,’
meaning ‘Lord, come quickly.’ Instead of
being frightened by the possibility, they clung to it as the culmination of
everything they believed. Not
surprisingly, the New Testament reflects this intense anticipation by
referencing Jesus’ return, whether directly or indirectly, in every New
Testament book except Philemon and 3 John. (Nathan Busenitz, Living a Life
of Hope [Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour Books, 2003], 122).
I believe
that I will be able to finish this introduction in tomorrow evening’s SD and
then we can go onto look at these very important verses more deeply, as they
are some very great verses to look at and study.
12/28/2025
8:31 PM
