Saturday, January 24, 2026

Intro to “Living in Anticipation of Christ’s Return” (2 Peter 3:11-18)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/24/2026 6:48 PM

My Worship Time                               Focus: Intro to “Living in Anticipation of Christ’s Return”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                               Reference:  2 Peter 3:11-18

            Message of the verses:  “11 ¶  Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12  waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13  But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 14  Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15  And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16  as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17  You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (ESV)

            “One day—in the relatively near future—this universe will be utterly destroyed.  Under the weight of God’s consuming wrath, in final retribution, it will melt away in a final holocaust of unimaginable intensity.

            “For God’s enemies, that future judgment will be an inescapable nightmare.  But for God’s children, it will mean the fulfillment of the Christian’s hope, a dream come true, ushering in the dawn of Christ’s rule on earth, followed by the creation of a new heavens and a new earth.  And for God Himself, it will mark His total triumph over all who oppose Him, including the final destruction of death and the complete eradication of sin (1 Cor. 15:24-28).”

(1 Cor. 15:24-28)

“24  Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26  The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27  For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28  When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.”

            “This final section is Peter’s exhortation to his readers to respond rightly to the Lord’s return and final judgment.  After all, their daily conduct needed to be consistent with their hope (cf. Rom. 15:13; Col. 1:23; Heb. 6:11; 1 John 3:3) as they considered the reality of divine recompense and the promise of eternal glory.”

(cf. Rom. 15:13; Col. 1:23; Heb. 6:11; 1 John 3:3)

“13 ¶  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

“23  if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

“11  And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end,”

“3  And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”

            “The phrase since all these things are to be destroyed in this way refers back to the previous passage (3:7-10), in which this universe’s obliteration is predicted.”

(3:7-10)

“7  But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”

“Until everything is ultimately replaced by a glorious eternal state, Peter defines what sort of people translates the unique Greek term potapous, which could also be rendered ‘how astonishingly excellent you ought to be.’  In light of God’s promised judgment, Peter challenged his readers to live in keeping with their Christian hope—allowing their anticipation of Christ’s return to impact their daily behavior.”

            Lord willing I will finish this introduction to these last verses in 2 Peter in tomorrow’s SD.

1/24/2026 7:08 PM

 

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