Concerning this week’s text – I read some of Revelation and heard some sermons preached on it when I was fairly young and to be completely honest it has terrified me most of my life. As a child I was always afraid I was going to do something wrong, that my salvation wasn’t going to stick, the rapture was going to happen, and I was going to be left behind. As I got older and became less insecure in my salvation, eternity still shook me to my core. I’m human, I’m finite, all I know is a temporal world; trying to wrap my mind around reality without time has always made me feel like I was floating in the dark – there’s no touchstone, no way to get my bearings. And everything that unfolds in the tribulation was of course terrifying. Ultimately, even as someone who’s saved, I was never really able to draw comfort from Revelation. Back in June of this year, after a nuclear tier panic attack, God drew me closer to him and I began reading my bible like I never had before. I went through the New Testament somewhat ravenously up until I got to Revelation, then I started dragging my feet a little. I went back and read some of the Old Testament, I worked on some Bible studies – I was scared to start Revelation. In early July I had a sort of relapse. My anxiety started getting worse and I began to have the psychosomatic symptom of trouble breathing again. One afternoon I was laid up on my couch and from what I can only assume was a stirring of the Spirit, I knew it was time. I pulled out my phone, opened my Bible app and started Revelation. I got to verse 3, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” And in the spirit of obedience, I started to read aloud, just whispering the words to myself. I had been struggling to breath properly off and on for days, I had resumed waking up at night, gasping, panic-stricken, feeling like I was suffocating – but lying on my couch, reading aloud from a book that had frankly terrified me for most of my life, I felt myself physically, mentally, and most significantly spiritually relax into God and I could breathe. The Book of Revelation scared me for so long because I had taken away the enormity of it, but somehow missed the glory. I saw the pain and terror of the tribulation, the final judgement, the lake of fire and missed the beautiful and righteous justice of God. I grappled with trying to understand eternity with a human mind and overlooked the perfect promise of life with God. Reading it with my eyes opened helped correct this – going through this section of 2 Peter and cross referencing so much with Revelation has helped even more. I confess, I’m still very much human, and I am still intimidated by some of what is to come, but I think that’s okay. To treat the second coming, the tribulation, final judgement – any of it casually would be a mistake. But the book feels far less confusing now, it fits contextually with the rest of the New Testament instead of feeling unfamiliar or downright frightening. It’s made me grateful all over again for the invitation to do these outlines which has led me to approach the Word in new ways in which God has allowed me to see such wonderful things.

Now, onto the outline:

2 Peter 3:10-13, “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. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 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! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

The Promise of His Coming

Last week in 2 Peter 3:1-9, Peter encouraged having a clear and sober mind, to not be discouraged or swayed by the scoffers and drew our attention to God’s bountiful patience, which should not be taken for granted. Now starting in verse 10 he says, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,” echoing Jesus’s words,

in Matthew 24:42-44, “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

In Mark 13:32-37, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

And in Luke 17:20-24, 37, “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There!” for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.’ And he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, “Look, there!” or “Look, here!” Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.”… “And they said to him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.’”

While the imagery changes some from each example the message is clear: Christ’s return will be swift, catching many unaware and, like lightning that lights up the entire sky, it will be undeniable. Next, Peter turns our attention to the worldly repercussions of the coming of the Lord, “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.” We see in Revelation the various destructions brought about by fire, first to bring an end to God’s enemies and to deliver eternal torment to the devil, the beast and the false prophet.

Revelation 20:7-10, “And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Immediately following this we see the judgement before the white throne,

Revelation 20:11, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.”

I had to reread a few times for it to sink in, but I believe it was in this verse we just saw the old earth burned away. It seemed to me that there’s a parallel between the phrasing used here and a section of text earlier in Revelation,

Revelation 12:7-8, “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.”

I addressed this idea in an earlier outline, the question of whether or not Satan could obtain forgiveness for his crimes against God and that the clear answer seems to be, no. 12:8 states that “there was no longer any place for them in heaven.” Indicating that judgement has already been pronounced. 20:11 states that before the judgement of man has even begun, that simply in the presence of Holy God that the sin stained earth and sky fled and like Satan and the fallen angels, there was no place for them. Next we see God’s judgement unfold,

Revelation 20:12-13, “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.”

This immediately made me think of what Jesus says in Luke 8:17, “For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.” The sins of the world are laid bare and judged by God and then comes the final fiery destruction.

Revelation 20:14-15, “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

I know that last week I drew the connection of God creating water first and fire second and using water first and fire second in destroying the world. Something that didn’t quite click for me at first was the nature of each element. Water purifies by washing away, cleansing and leaving behind a clean slate. In the Old Testament Levitical laws, there were instructions to cleanse yourself with water if you became unclean, (usually followed by an amount of time in isolation), and the living water that flows from Christ brings with it a destruction of the old self and a revitalization in Him. Fire, however brings a greater sense of permanence in its destruction. It is what’s used to burn offerings before God, it’s what is to be done with any remains of the Passover lamb. To be burned up is to be destroyed in completion, without nothing left behind but ashes. If water cleans the slate, then fire eliminates it completely.

Revelation 21:1-2, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

In the aftermath of everything tangible we’ve ever known being erased and burned up we’re placed, not into chaos or confusion, but in paradise.

“Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 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!”

If everything tangible; the earth, the sky, the heavens themselves are going to be erased where should our priorities rest?

Colossians 3:1-4, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

The knowledge that reality as we know it will cease to exist can be terrifying (this is a fear and uncertainty I still struggle with sometimes), but if we have minds set on God, if we’re seeking the things that are above, it becomes far less unnerving, even if it is still a vast and intimidating concept. It is in the aftermath of the destruction that we experience a type of wholeness so complete we can’t properly comprehend it on this side of eternity.

“But according to his promise…”

John 1:1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

John 3:14-15, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

John 4:13-14, “Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”

The promise of Christ was present in the plans of God before creation, his promise was delivered again and again throughout the gospel – that we might exist, whole and freed from sin, right in the presence of the Living God.

“… we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

Revelation 21:3-8, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

After the dissolving of the world as we know it and the final judgement comes justice, truth, righteousness freely flowing for all, living with God as his people. The barrier of sin is gone, the world in which Satan thrived, where Jesus was crucified and the blood of the saints was spilled is erased, and we have before us, with open eyes and right hearts, eternity before us with the Father. Peter reminds us of what awaits us in verses 10-13, and draws our eyes, not to what is worldly and immediately before us, but to the spirit and what lies beyond.

Pastor Chris’s sermon on the text: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kWBGDxnnUQ