Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Good morning.
[00:00:06] Good morning. Hello. I love. Somebody waved at me back there. That was. I love it. My name is Michael Fueling. I'm the lead pastor here at the village church. Would you open up your bibles to the book of Second Peter? We're going to be in chapter three this morning. I want to ask you kind of a strange question, but, like, of all the biblical doctrines that you know to be true, of all the things that are in the Bible, that the Bible teaches us truth in reality, what biblical doctrine do you wish wasn't true?
[00:00:36] And so I think for most christians, as we kind of wrestle through some things, I have a hunch that the majority of christians would land on this doctrine, the eternality of hell. This idea that for all of those who reject Jesus, hell being eternal conscious torment that lasts forever and ever, like, if we could undo one doctrine and just be like, can we just do any other doctrine but that one? That would probably be, like, a pretty significant one.
[00:01:04] But what if you got a whole bunch of non Christians together and you were to ask them, okay, of all the things that, you know, christians believe, like, what is the one doctrine that you would like to not be true? And I think that most non Christians would give this answer, the final judgment this time when Jesus comes back, and when he comes back, the commitment is that he's going to judge the living and the dead, and that all things done publicly and in private, all sinful impulses and actions, all the things hidden, all the evil done, that, like, every single one of these things is going to be publicly exposed. It will be judged and seen for what it is. And those who have never received forgiveness through faith in Christ will be condemned to hell forever. I bet for a generation that hates anything judgmental, the judgment, the final judgment of Jesus Christ. On the one hand, like, I could imagine people would look forward to it, because if you think about, like, all of those things, circumstances where you knew, like, you knew something wasn't right and whoever it was got away with it. And one day there's gonna come a day when all of that is gonna be outed or, like, go back to, like, junior high or high school, maybe. For some of you, it's college or grad school where, like, you know that person who cheated through everything and got away with it every single time, and you're like, how long, oh, Lord? Until you expose their thieving ways, right? And so on the one hand, you're like, yeah, like, the final judgment. I can't wait for all of these people to be outed. And it's great until we remember we're being judged too.
[00:02:42] And at that point, they're like, yeah, I'll bypass the entire thing. Now, if you've been with us through second Peter, there has been a nefarious group of people that goes by a couple different names. They've been called false teachers. They've been called false prophets. They've been called scoffers.
[00:02:59] And here's what we know. It's very interesting because this group of people, they rejected a really, at first glance, I thought it was strange that they were rejecting this doctrine, but they rejected the doctrine of the second coming of Jesus.
[00:03:16] And again, at first glance, I'm like, of all the doctrines, why the second coming of Jesus? Why is it you're so averse to it? Why is it that these false teachers are going in local church after local church after local church all around the first century and they're teaching Jesus isn't coming back. Jesus isn't coming back? And then as we begin to study a little bit more, it finally made sense.
[00:03:37] Because what happens when Jesus comes back?
[00:03:42] The judgment of the living and the dead and all of their secrets being exposed once for all and forever.
[00:03:48] And if I was living a nefarious life, if I was living and I was doing things deceptively, do you know what I would not want to happen? I wouldn't want them to be outed. And so here's what we find with these people is they're like, oh, yeah, the second coming of Christ isn't happening, and the judgment isn't happening. And by the way, because he's not coming back and there is no judgment, go do whatever you want. But you know this, if he is coming back, you can do whatever you want, but it will be exposed and it will be judged and it will be seen for exactly what it is. And so these losers were up to no good in the church, and so they denied this basic doctrine because this doctrine got in the way of their lifestyle. I want you to hear this, and I'll put this on the screen so you can catch it. People typically reject doctrines not because of the doctrine's content, but because the doctrine rejects their lifestyle.
[00:04:39] So it's not an accident that the person who's sleeping with their boyfriend or girlfriend disagrees with the Bible on sexual ethics and morality.
[00:04:47] It's not an accident that the person who worships false religions disagrees with the Bible's stance and the exclusivity of Jesus, that he is the only way of salvation. And it's not an accident that false prophets, the false teachers and the scoffers disagree with the second coming of Christ. It's not that they actually disagree with it in substance, but that that doctrine disagrees with their entire lifestyle. So here's what's gonna happen. The next two weeks, we're gonna be looking at the end of two, Peter, chapter three, the end of the book. And so what I'm gonna do is this morning is I'm gonna focus my time on a bit more teaching, and then next week we're going to take the same subject that we teach on, and we're going to go a whole lot more into the application and the so what. And I want to give you kind of just a warning on the front end. This is one of the top three heaviest subjects, I think, in the Bible. And so, praise God. We're not teaching this on Mother's Day, because it seems that most years on Mother's Day, where we line up in the teaching calendar, in the book of the Bible, we're teaching out as the wrath of God, the judgment of God, or hell. So that's the week before next week is going to be about how to live for God in different ways, in holiness. But so I want to kind of prepare your hearts and minds, though, because this will be one of those sermons that is a lot. It is heavy, it is weighty, but we don't shy away from the counsel of God, even on the hard stuff. And sometimes we just need to, like, look the word of God in the face and let it say to us the hard truth. So, to start, let me introduce you to a theological word. It is the word eschatology. And eschatology is the study of last things or the study of the end of the world. So do you know what book of the Bible I get asked to preach on more than any other book? Can you guys guess?
[00:06:33] Revelation over and over again? And do you know what topic, surprisingly not revelation. What topic I get asked to preach on more than anything else? It's demons. So apparently, demons and the end of the world are two of the most interesting subjects. And so we just. We'll talk about demons, the end of the world, and make sure we have a biblical view on these things. Now, I get roped into theological debates all the time. Not so secretly. I enjoy them greatly.
[00:07:00] One of the debates that I get wrapped up in with many of you who have strong opinions on this is the nature of how the end of the world is going to happen. So if you were to take all of the christians all the people, a village church who believe the rapture and the second coming are two separate events, and you lined them all up against the wall, there'd be a lot of people. And if you took all the people at village church who believe that the rapture in the second coming is actually just one event that we call the second coming, you line them up against the wall, there'd be a whole bunch of people lined up against that wall. And then if you took everybody in the church who's like, what's the rapture? I don't really care. I haven't actually thought about a whole lot. Is he just coming back? That's all I care about. You get a whole bunch of people right in the middle. Okay. So thankfully, second Peter, three. What? We're going to talk about all of the people who are on this side of the room and all the people on that side of the room. We all agree at least on one thing. Two, Peter chapter three isn't talking about the rapture. So I'm so sorry. We're not talking about the rapture. We are talking about the second coming. And guess what? All the people, no matter where they're at in the room, if you're a true Christian, do you know what? We all believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ. He is coming back. So if you're on this side of the room and you rapture people, great. If you're this side of the room, you're second coming. Only people. That's great. If you're in the middle, oh, that's great. We're talking about the second coming, not the rapture. All good. All right, there we are. Two, Peter, chapter three, verse ten. Peter has established before the second coming of Christ, more and more scoffers, false teachers, and false prophets will raise up. And who is their target, by the way? Christians. So the more of them that rise up, the more negative they are towards believers in Jesus Christ. Persecution is going to grow before the second coming of Christ, more and more and more. So in two, Peter, chapter three, Peter does something really interesting.
[00:08:52] Peter drops what I would say is one of the most loaded and emotional phrases in the entire Bible. I'm gonna tell you what it is in a second, but when you hear it, for most christians, this is not a loaded and emotional phrase in the 21st century, but in the first century for Peter's churches, the moment Peter drops this phrase, this has significant weight, meaning, and emotion behind it. And the phrase is very simple. It is the day of the Lord. Now, 1 second Peter, chapter three, verse ten. Here's what it says. But the day of the Lord drops us in, will come like a thief.
[00:09:36] Now, here's what I want to do. I want to share with you a short list of synonyms that the scriptures use for the day of the Lord. Buckle up.
[00:09:46] The day of the wrath of Yahweh. The day, your day, the day of punishment. The day of vengeance, the day of doom. The day of darkness, the day of distress, the day of disaster. The day of battle, the day of slaughter, the day of decision, the day of reckoning, the day of retribution. The day of recompense. The day of doom. Oops. Said that twice, but it comes up a lot. The day of the Lord's anger. The day of judgment. That day. The day of God, the day of his coming. The day of wrath. The day of our Lord Jesus Christ, the day of visitation, the great day of God the Almighty, the judgment of the great day and the great and magnificent day of the Lord.
[00:10:25] So this is one of those phrases that, like, we might just hear and read past, but this is one of the weightiest, most developed theological concepts in the entire Bible.
[00:10:38] And if you're in Peter's churches, and most of them have some sort of jewish background, they understand the Old Testament's teaching on the day of the Lord. And so when he. When Peter drops in this phrase, they go, ooh, that's heavy. So in the scriptures, the day of the Lord can refer to two events in history. And so the first one is this. The day of the Lord is any event or era where God intervenes to judge his people, to judge his enemies. I'm sorry. And deliver his true people. So think about the day of the Lord, that on the one side of it, you have this reality where God is going to judge, he's going to discipline. Really bad things are going to happen for those who've rebelled against him. And on the other side of the coin is salvation for the people of God who are being oppressed. And here's just a few smaller days of the Lord throughout history. You have Egypt in Passover, the fall of Samaria to Assyria in 722 BC, called the day of the Lord. The fall of Judah to Babylon, 586 BC, the fall of Babylon itself, the destruction of Nineveh. And some would actually say that to date, the death of Jesus Christ has been the most significant day of the Lord, where the wrath and judgment of God was not put on a nation, but on Jesus. And simultaneously, those who believed in him were set free.
[00:11:58] So every single day of the Lord. These smaller ones are shadows.
[00:12:03] And the substance casting the shadow is a future event or day of the Lord. And so the day of the Lord in scripture, sometimes it refers to these smaller events, usually where nations are judged for their sin and God's true people are saved or freed. But these are shadows pointing to this big one. And here's the second thing that the day of the Lord can refer to. The day of the Lord is the culminating event of history, where Jesus bodily comes back. And here's what he does when he comes back to judge the world to avenge his name. And you're gonna see this, that one of the things that God is gonna make right is all the people who slandered his name. He's gonna show his name for being what it truly is, which is glorious, to vindicate his true people, purify the world from sin, and renew creation. So when we speak of the day of the Lord, we are speaking of a very big and important day in scripture. Let me just kind of further help you understand this. The day of the Lord is simultaneously the day of your rescue and also the most dreadful day that you can possibly imagine.
[00:13:15] So this morning we're gonna do something a little bit different. We're gonna unpack four implications of the day of the Lord for unbelievers and the lost. And then we're gonna look at four implications of the day of the Lord for those who are true believers. Now, we're gonna go about this a little bit different. So what I'm gonna do is I'm actually going to spend probably the next eight to twelve minutes, and we're going to be mostly reading scriptures. I'll make a few comments here and there. So what I want to encourage you to do is maybe put your phone down. I want you to engage your brain. I'm going to have a new Testament text for each point, and then I'm going to read you an extended old Testament text. It'll be quite a bit of scripture reading, but I want you to do is I want you to read it and I want you to imagine the events that are being described. So avoid checking out. It's going to take a few minutes, but I believe for ten to twelve minutes, we absolutely can imagine. Now, some of this is going to be weighty. It's going to be devastating to think about. There are going to be people that are so dearly beloved in your life that are going to flash through your mind. This is going to be an opportunity to just let the weight and the scope of this doctrine impact our minds and our hearts. Now, when we talk about the day of the Lord, the New Testament authors didn't just come up with this. You're going to see this as we go through here. All of the stuff that they teach on the day of the Lord is rooted in actually what the Old Testament teaches on this day. Let's jump in four primary ways. The day of the Lord impacts on believers. Number one, for the lost, the day of the Lord is a day of total destruction.
[00:14:57] Two, thessalonians one, seven, nine.
[00:15:01] When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, catch this inflaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in verse nine. It's a striking opening. They will suffer.
[00:15:21] They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might. Let's go back to the Old Testament. Zephaniah chapter one, verses two to three.
[00:15:35] God says, I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares the Lord. I will sweep away man and beast. I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea and the rubble with the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth, declares the Lord.
[00:16:01] Number two, for the lost, the day of the Lord is a day of horror.
[00:16:06] Revelation 615 17 then the kings of the earth and the great ones and generals, and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand? Let's go back to the Old Testament. Zephaniah 114 18 the great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast. The sound of the day of the Lord is bitter.
[00:16:50] The mighty man cries aloud there.
[00:16:53] A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty embattlements. I will bring distress on mankind so that they shall walk like the blind because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood shall be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them. On the day of the wrath of the Lord in the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed. For a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
[00:17:40] Number three, for the lost, the day of the Lord is a day of irrevocable judgment.
[00:17:47] Romans chapter two, verse five and six.
[00:17:50] But because of your hard and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself. On the day of wrath, when God's righteous judgment will be revealed, he will render to each one according to his works. In the Old Testament. Amos chapter five, verses 18 to 20.
[00:18:13] Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord.
[00:18:18] Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness and not light, as if a man fled from a lion and a bear met him, or went into the house and laid his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. Is not the day of the Lord darkness and not light and gloom with no brightness in it?
[00:18:38] Number four, for the lost, the day of the Lord is a call to repentance before it's too late. So one of the things that you're gonna see in the New Testament is that they regularly talk about like, jesus is coming back at any time. The day of the Lord is near. It's anticipated, it's imminent, it's always about to happen.
[00:18:54] And the scriptures, the New Testament scriptures were written 2000 years ago. Well, where did they get this idea? The day of the Lord in the Old Testament is always spoken about, even if it's centuries away or millennia away. It's always spoken of as about to happen at any moment. So let's read these. Isaiah 13 six, wail for the day, the Lord is near. Ezekiel 33 for the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near. Joel 115 for the day of the Lord is near. Joel two one, let all the inhabitants of the city tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, surely it is near. Joel 314 multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision. For the day of the Lord is near, in the valley of decision. Obadiah 115 for the day of the Lord draws near on all the nations. Zephaniah one seven, be silent before the Lord God, for the day of the Lord is near. Zephaniah 114 near is the great day of the Lord, near. And coming very quickly when you open up the Old Testament, especially the prophets, have a ton to say about this. Years ago we did a nine month study on the minor prophets, and it was the gloom, darkest nine months of preaching history ever, I think in any church, probably the village church for sure.
[00:20:09] Back to two. Peter, chapter three now. And I think verse seven summarizes really succinctly this teaching, but by the same word Peter says, the heavens and the earth that now exist, they're stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
[00:20:32] So when Peter's writing this letter and he just drops in this phrase, the day of the Lord, this is meant to land like a ton of bricks on all of his readers and all of them familiar, especially the false teachers, false prophets and scoffers who knew the Old Testament. This was meant as a direct rebuke against all of them. And this would land like a ton of bricks.
[00:20:57] This day is so horrible, you literally wouldn't wish it upon your worst enemies.
[00:21:03] The day of the Lord is the most dreadful day that you can possibly imagine.
[00:21:10] Are you ready for whiplash?
[00:21:13] The day of the Lord is also, for christians, the greatest day that launches us into our eternity with him forever. And this is classic day of the Lord. On the one side is judgment, on the other side is freedom and salvation. And if you and I have trusted in Jesus Christ, when the great day of the Lord comes, this is the day that launches us into eternity. And so at the same time, we say, Jesus, come back.
[00:21:45] We have to understand that there is a weight to that prayer and a blessing as well. Now, I want to share with you the four primary ways the day of the Lord will change your life as a true Christian.
[00:21:56] Number one for the true believer, the day of the Lord. It is the day of our salvation. First, Thessalonians five, for you yourselves, you are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. Where do they get this vocabulary? From Jesus. Where does Jesus get it? From all of the Old Testament, while people are saying there's peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
[00:22:25] But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
[00:22:32] He goes on. In verse nine, he says this, for God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. And when is that salvation realized? On the day of the Lord. Old Testament Joel, chapter two, verse 32. It shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Isn't it interesting? The language the New Testament authors use are actually rooted, so much of it in the Old Testament prophetic literature?
[00:23:02] He goes on and says, for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, there shall be those who escape as the Lord has said. And among the survival survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls. Number two. For the true believer, the day of the Lord is our day of vindication.
[00:23:19] Revelation, chapter six, verse nine. It's an interesting scene, and I need to explain what's happening before we read it. What you have here is you have people who have been martyred or killed for their testimony and believing in Jesus Christ. And they are asking Jesus a really important question about the day of the Lord. Verse nine. I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they had maintained. And they, the martyred ones, they cried out with a loud voice, there's desperation. They want an answer to this. How long, O Lord? And the next couple words, actually, it's very respectful. Holy and true. Right? How long, O Lord? Holy and true. Will you refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Here's what they're asking. When is the day of the Lord coming? When you are going to make right all of these people who are killing christians day in and day out. And Jesus response is striking. Verse eleven. And there was given to each of them those martyred, a white robe, and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed. Also, let me translate. There is a predestined number of people who are going to be martyred and killed for their faith in Jesus as a public testimony to hell and to heaven and to humanity that Jesus is more valuable than life. And when that total number of people predestined to be killed in this way has fulfilled its number, then Jesus will come back. Old Testament Joel, chapter three, verse 19 to 21.
[00:25:04] Egypt will become a waste. I mean, Egypt just kept plaguing the Israelites. Edom also super annoying to the Israelites. Edom will become a desolate wilderness because of the violence done to the sons of Judah in whose land they have shed innocent blood. But Judah will be inhabited forever in Jerusalem for all generations. And listen to this. And I will avenge their blood, which I have not avenged. For the Lord dwells in Zion. And so on the great day of the Lord, this is the day that all of the evil done to God's people all throughout human history is finally avenged and made right. Number three. For the true believer, the day of the Lord is our day of freedom. Are you guys still sticking with me? It's a lot of scripture, but just get your brain zoned in, shake your head, get up and twirl around if you have to focus. Romans 819 23. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. Even creation is like, can we just get the show on the road? For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only creation, but we ourselves, who are the first fruits of the spirit. We groan inwardly as we eagerly wait for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. By the way, when does all that happen? At the very end of the day of the Lord. Let's go back to the old testament. Isaiah 61 one, three.
[00:26:39] The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
[00:26:46] He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty, freedom to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God. To comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion, to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit, that the Lord that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. Why all this that he may be glorified, not done. One more for the true believer. The day of the Lord launches our imperishable future. The book of first corinthians 15. We'll start in verse 42. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. When does that happen? After the day of the Lord, at the very end. What is sown? This body. This is perishable. Amen.
[00:27:42] What's raised is imperishable. What is sown? It is sown in dishonor, but it's raised in glory. It's sown in weakness. It's raised in power. What is sown is the natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. Behold, I tell you, a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed for this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When does this happen? At the end of the day of the Lord. Isaiah 60 517 18. For behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth. And the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind, but be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.
[00:28:42] Come, Lord Jesus, let's go back to second Peter. I want to look at verse ten, and in light of everything we just read, Peter drops in. The day of the Lord will come like a thief. And then he says, and then the heavens, that's the sky.
[00:29:00] The heavens will pass away with a roar. To pass away is this literally means that something is going to completely disappear and then will be replaced by something else. He goes on and says, the heavenly bodies, that's the stars and the moon and all that way, way, way, way up there, they will be burned up and dissolved.
[00:29:21] To be burned up means to be completely destroyed and brought to nothing forever. In fact, the greek word for dissolved means to break something apart into its smallest pieces, to basically incinerate it and to bring it to its most smallest. But then he says, this, and the earth, that's all of this, and the works that are done on it will be exposed. The greek word exposed is apocalypto. We get a word, apocalypse from, and it literally means to uncover or to expose the true state of something. So the day of the Lord, when Jesus comes back, all things infected or tainted with sin in any way, shape or form will be utterly destroyed, obliterated and recreated and renewed. And all works done in this world that have any sniff of sin in them whatsoever, all will be publicly exposed. All will be able to be seen. All will be judged rightly. And if you have trusted in Christ, you will be declared forgiven.
[00:30:21] Amen.
[00:30:23] Verse twelve describes it this way. The heavens, he's not done. I mean, Peter's just like, all in the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn.
[00:30:41] If you lived through this, being a Christian and you kind of saw all that's going on, wouldn't you expect non christians would turn to Jesus?
[00:30:53] That's like a classic christian thing to say, right? We're like, well, just. I mean, it's so clear. He's like, there's. What's interesting is that it seems that when Jesus comes back, there will be nobody left on the earth who would believe. Okay, have you guys ever talked to somebody and they're like, well, I don't believe. But if I could see him and talk to him and if he could prove himself, I would totally believe. That is not true. That is absolutely not true. And I'm gonna show you from scripture why it's not true. And we think about the day of the Lord, but like, okay, what about my family member or my friend? And you should be thinking about those things. But it seems that when Jesus comes back, everybody who would did, everybody who would trust in Christ did. And that what you are left with across the world are rebels who, in their pride, refuse to admit the wrong. Do you guys ever experience that in your life? You guys have never been that person either. I refuse to be wrong. Right? But this is a global world where literally people are like, even if I saw him, I wouldn't. Now I'm going to read you two scriptures from revelation, and here's what I want you to remember in these scriptures what they're describing. There are no more atheists in the world when this happens. There are no agnostics in the world. Every single person, when we read this to you, every single person in the world knows there is one God. They know Jesus is God. They know he is coming to judge the living and the dead. No one is confused knowing this. Listen to their reaction. Revelation 920 21. The rest of mankind who were not killed by the plagues, by the way, the end of the world is going to be bad.
[00:32:26] Did not repent of the works of their hands, nor give up worshipping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.
[00:32:39] Okay, okay. That's one thing. Nor did they repent of their murderers. Say you're sorry for killing those people. No, I'm not going to say sorry for killing them or their sorceries, or their sexual immorality, or their thefts.
[00:32:54] They know who Jesus is. They know what is coming, and they refuse to apologize. Let's bring this a step closer. We read this earlier, but now I want you to read this through a different lens. Revelation 615.
[00:33:07] Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
[00:33:20] Calling to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us. Now listen to the knowledge they have about what is happening to them.
[00:33:32] Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne. Do they know that this is Jesus 100%.
[00:33:43] They even know his nickname. And from the wrath of the lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come. And who can stand?
[00:33:55] One of the things that I'm anticipating is that when Jesus does come back for 100% of the people judged as guilty, they will not just be guilty, but they will be unrepentantly with full knowledge of what they are not repenting of and full knowledge of what is waiting for them. It will be a stubbornness and a pride of heart that we probably have never seen. Yet.
[00:34:17] For the true believers, this day cannot come soon enough, because this is the day where our eternity, everything we have been hoping for and longing for is launched. Second Peter 313. But according to his promise, we're waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which I love this righteousness dwells. No more sin, no more immorality, not out there, not in here. Nothing perishable. A world where righteousness dwells, reigning under the authority of Jesus Christ. The second to last scripture, the second to last verse in the entire Bible is this. John writes in revelation 22 20, he who testifies to these things says, and this is Jesus who says this. Now quote, surely I am coming soon. End quote. Then John chimes back and he says, amen.
[00:35:21] Come, Lord Jesus.
[00:35:25] And this is a prayer asking for the day of the Lord to come. Now.
[00:35:30] All right, two. So whats number one, live and share the gospel. The gospel is the power of God for salvation to anybody who would believe there is no other way that somebody can be forgiven than to hear believe the gospel.
[00:35:49] I want you to think about in your life. And what I want to do is kind of continue like the apostles did with their churches to prepare us for the what if we live in the final last day? What if we find ourselves in this situation?
[00:36:05] And what if the scoffers and the false teachers and the revilers and the false prophets, what if, what if they come at our door? What if they get cultural power? What if, and what I want to encourage you with is to play the long game with revilers. What do you want when you're reviled to revile back? It's actually pretty satisfying.
[00:36:28] You want vengeance. This is what we want. We want to get a Mac.
[00:36:34] But if we're playing the long game, the worst gospel witness that I can possibly give to somebody is reviling the reviler.
[00:36:42] In fact, if I want to give this person the greatest plausible opportunity to meet Jesus and believe in him, I'm going to have to do something very different. I'm going to have to take a note from Jesus and learn how not to revile those who write vile, how not to scoff at those who scoff, how not to take my own vengeance because vengeance is mine, says the. What's his name? The Lord. So in Peter's first book, he's been prepping for them for this moment in both of his books. But in his first book, chapter three, verse 14, we'll start there. It says, even if the end of the world comes near, even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. Scoff or scoff. People do what they're going to do. Mockers. Mock revilers. Revile persecutors, persecute. Don't be afraid of them.
[00:37:31] But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy.
[00:37:35] Always being prepared to make a defense. Like, if you get the chance and they want to talk like, I'd love to share with you about Jesus always being prepared to make a defense to anybody who asks you for a reason, for the hope that is in you. And this is so important, yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience.
[00:37:57] One of the most powerful witnesses that you have that will prep somebody plausibly to hear the gospel is a spirit of gentleness and respect, especially when people are ridiculous to us.
[00:38:13] Now, where did Peter learn this again? His name is Jesus. Jesus, good Jesus had two modes with people, and it's really important to know his two modes.
[00:38:27] Jesus, his first mode is harsh.
[00:38:30] Jesus is harsh to exclusively one group of people, religious leaders who claim to speak for God, who were leading people to hell, and typically, almost always, they were monetizing people or extorting them for their own gain. And good Jesus is harsh with that group of people.
[00:38:52] Everyone else, Jesus appears to be patient, respectful, and kind. Like, of all the people that you would probably want to be the most rude to, it would have been, I don't know, the roman leadership who were overseeing his crucifixion, and they're like, yeah, we basically know you're innocent, but we got to feed these people their food, and they're all salivated for your blood, so we got to give it to you. So sorry, buddy. And he's quiet. What a weak, weak move by the roman leadership. How pathetic. And yet Jesus does not reviled when he is mistreated. The guards beat him. He doesn't speak back to them.
[00:39:24] Jesus is modeling for us something that I think christians, it's very un american, but we need to be able to learn as the world gets closer to the end and the government doesn't actually give you the freedoms that it should to protect your freedom of religion. And the cultural movement shifts so that it's a against you. Reviling, mocking, scoffing, and taking your own vengeance will be the most counter effective, worst decisions you can possibly make. And so here's what we do. We start now. When mocked, we don't mock back. When reviled, we don't revile back.
[00:39:54] We let the Lord have vengeance. When people persecute, we don't play these, we don't play these games.
[00:40:00] Number two, come to Jesus and avoid eternal devastation.
[00:40:07] This last sub, what is explicitly for those of you who are here and you know, you have never trusted in Christ. Like, you're like, I didn't walk into this room intending to, but maybe even as we listen, there's a part of you that is like, I don't think I've ever understood sin like this, and I don't think I've ever really, like, grasped the weight of the judgment of God. And maybe there's just something inside of you that is like, I don't know what the next step is, but I do know that I believe in Jesus. I believe I'm a sinner. I believe he was raised from the dead. I want to read you from Jesus himself. Luke 21 34. Jesus says, be careful or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing drunkenness and the anxieties of life. And the great news that is not the life Christ wants from you.
[00:40:59] And then he says this in that day. What day is this, by the way? The day of the Lord will close on you suddenly, like a trap. Have you ever seen a mouse get caught in a trap? Like it doesn't even have time to react. It is done.
[00:41:14] Verse 35, for it will come on. All those who live on the face of the earth be always on the watch. I pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen and that you may be able to stand before the son of man. I want to be very clear at the point of talking about the day of the Lord, the vengeance of God, the wrath of God, hell, and the final judgment is not to scare anybody into trusting in Christ.
[00:41:45] Good people don't go to heaven, and you can't scare somebody into heaven. Too many people came to Christ because they're afraid, not because they are sorry for their sins.
[00:41:58] The whole point of this is to show you the degree of punishment reveals the actual weight of sin.
[00:42:06] Most people don't think sin is a big deal. They don't understand that the consequences, the wages that are due for sin is eternal death. People don't understand that. And so, even as the scriptures teach this, the goal in showing the severity of judgment is to show you correspondingly the severity of the weight of sin, so that when you hear about judgment, you don't go, oh, no, I want to get out of hell. Free card, you say, oh, God, I did not know my sin was this ugly. I did not know it was this bad. And I am so sorry. Will you forgive me? I believe in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
[00:42:44] And so if you're here and you have never trusted in Jesus, the best thing I could encourage you to do is to trust Christ and avoid what is most certainly coming for all of humanity, which is the day of the Lord. Let's pray together. Father, I want to thank you for your word. You are so unbelievably clear. And, God, I admit it would be easier to not face kind of these texts. But, Lord, even these texts are just a small percentage of what your scriptures say about the coming day of the Lord, both as a judgment for the loss and as the beginning of our eternity for those who trusted in Christ.
[00:43:24] Lord, if there's someone in this room who has yet to trust in you, God, would you show them the weight of their sin? But would you also show them the glory of the gospel and how good you are, that your hand is always extended, offering forgiveness at any time? Lord, may we all take advantage of this before the great and terrible day of the Lord, so that we might be able to be with you forever with imperishable bodies on an imperishable earth, where we get to reign with you over all of a renewed creation? God, we can't wait for that day. And in the meantime, would you teach us to live for Christ? And would you use us to draw as many people to salvation as humanly possible? We pray all of this, and we do it in Jesus name. Amen. Village church. Amen.
