https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/DisbeliefInTheComingOfJesus.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: II Peter 3:1-15<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. Many false doctrines are rooted in a simple belief that word or phrase that has a particular\nmeaning in one context has the same meaning in all other contexts.\n A. For example, the Greek word presbuteros<\/i> in Acts 2:17 means someone advanced\nin age\n
1. So does it hold the same meaning Acts 14:23?<\/p>\n
2. How do you appoint someone to be old?<\/p>\n
3. Yet, there is a group that claims that there is no office of elder.<\/p>\n
a. Elders, we are told, are merely older people in a congregation<\/p>\n
b. They justify this by saying one meaning applies to all contexts<\/p>\n
B. The Greek word peirazo<\/i> can mean to tempt, as in James 1:13<\/p>\n 1. But in Hebrews 11:17 the same word is used to say that Abraham was\npeirazo<\/i> by God\n
2. Atheists jump on things like this to claim there is a contradiction<\/p>\n 3. But none actually exists because peirazo<\/i> is a broader word that means “to\ntry or to test”\n a. God will not try or test a man to do evil in James 1:13, but in\nEnglish we use a more specialized word, “tempt” to say the same\nthing\n b. God tested or tried Abraham’s faith in Hebrews 11:17 to prove its\nstrength. The aim of the trial was not sin\n C. Both premillennialism and preterism are beliefs that are rooted in misapplying the\ncoming of Jesus as if all “comings” are the same\n
II. Where is the promise of his coming? – II Peter 3:1-4<\/p>\n
A. It appears that everything continues as it always has – Ecclesiastes 1:4-9<\/p>\n 1. It is easy to fool yourself into believing this world will continue for\nmillions of years.\n 2. Some question the validity of God’s promise, but some believe that the\npromise has already been fulfilled\n a. Preterism claims that Jesus came in A.D. 70, destroyed Jerusalem\nand that fulfilled his promise to return.\n
B. Peter’s point is that God’s word has power<\/p>\n
1. It was by God’s word that the world was created – II Peter 3:5<\/p>\n
2. It was by God’s word that the world was destroyed by a flood – II Peter 3:6<\/p>\n 3. That same word promises that the world will be destroyed by fire in a day\nof judgment\n a. It isn’t the destruction of Jerusalem that is mind because it is the\nheavens<\/i> and earth<\/i>. \n b. I’ve seen someone argue that “earth” can just mean “land” as in\nMatthew 2:6 and “heaven” is what the Jews called the Holy of\nHolies in the Temple.\n c. But because something has one meaning in one context, does it\nretain that same meaning everywhere?\n d. Just because the Jews saw the Holy of Holies representing heaven,\nit doesn’t mean there is no heaven but the Holy of Holies. Quite the\nopposite actually.\n e. Notice that it is “heavens” and not “heaven” in this verse. The\nword “heaven” is used three different ways in the Bible\n (1) There is the heaven where the birds fly; that is our\natmosphere – Jeremiah 4:25\n (2) There is the heaven where the sun, moon and stars reside;\nthat is, outer space- Isaiah 13:10\n (3) And there is the heaven where God dwells which is a\nspiritual realm – Hebrews 9:24\n f. But more important “heavens and earth” are defined in the context\nas what God created and God destroyed with a flood.\n (1) The Temple and Jerusalem did not exist at this point in\nhistory\n
(2) We are talking about the atmosphere and outer space<\/p>\n
C. God doesn’t forget his promises<\/p>\n 1. Time doesn’t have the same meaning to God that it has to man – II Peter\n3:8\n a. Yet, there a version of premillennialism that claims because God\ncreated the world in six days, followed by a day of rest, then the\nworld’s history can be divided into six 1,000 year periods,\nfollowed by the peaceful reign of Jesus for a 1,000 years.\n b. Others use this passage to say that days of creation were actually\nlong periods of time.\n c. Then there are people who use this in some way to calculate the\nend of the world, even though later in II Peter 3:10 it says it is not\npredictable, like a thief.\n
d. This isn’t a formula, note the use of “as”. <\/p>\n
2. Peter’s point is like Psalms 90:4-6<\/p>\n
D. There is a purpose to the delay – II Peter 3:9<\/p>\n 1. The world continues because of God’s grace to give men a chance to\nchange\n E. But notice that all these arguments would not makes sense if Peter was talking\nabout the destruction of Jerusalem in a few years from the time this letter was\nwritten.\n
III. A coming that will not be missed – II Peter 3:10-11<\/p>\n
A. The heavens and earth will pass away<\/p>\n
1. The phrase “will pass away” comes from the Greek word parerchomai<\/i><\/p>\n 2. Heaven and earth will pass away, but in contrast Jesus’ words will remain\nforever – Matthew 24:35\n
3. Or when someone dies – James 1:10<\/p>\n
4. The earth and heavens will perish – Hebrews 1:10-12<\/p>\n
B. And it won’t be a quiet going. It is going with a “whoosh”<\/p>\n
C. The elements will melt with fervent heat<\/p>\n
1. “Elements” is the primary materials out of which everything is formed.<\/p>\n a. Thus the basic ingredients of this physical universe will melt in\nintense heat.\n 2. Preterists wish to claim that “elements” refers to the “elemental things of\nthe world” as used in Galatians 4:3,9 and thus refers to a figurative\ndestruction of the Law.\n a. Colossians 2:8, 20 talk about the same concept: “elemental\nprinciples of the world”\n
b. In isn’t limited to the Law, it includes idolatry – Galatians 4:8<\/p>\n c. Notice that II Peter 3:10,12 that there is no phrase “elemental\nthings of the world” or “elemental principles of the world”. It just\nsays “the elements”.\n d. Again there is a borrowing of a meaning from one context and a\nclaim that all uses must have the same meaning.\n 3. We already demonstrated from II Peter 3:5-6 that Peter is talking about the\nearth, atmosphere and outer space. \n
a. This is about a physical destruction<\/p>\n
b. Not a figurative destruction of ideas<\/p>\n 4. The word “melt” translates the Greek word luo<\/i> which means to break up,\ndestroy, or dissolve\n
a. In other words everything will be broken up into elemental pieces.<\/p>\n
D. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up<\/p>\n 1. The same Greek word for “burned up,” katakaio<\/i>, is used in Acts 19:19. It\nmeans to be consumed by fire.\n
2. What will be consumed? The earth and its works.<\/p>\n a. That would include the towering peaks, the rolling hills, the\nwinding streams, the extended plains, the deep forests, the mighty\noceans, the peaceful valleys, the underground minerals, springs,\nlakes, and oceans\n b. It will include all the works of man: those expensive homes, the\nsprawling cities, the parks, the farms, the gardens, highways,\nbooks, machines, and merchandise\n
IV. What manner of persons ought you to be? – II Peter 3:12-15<\/p>\n A. Seeing that all of this world isn’t meant to last, why are you putting so much\nemphasis on transient things?\n
B. God promises a new heaven and earth – II Peter 3:13<\/p>\n
1. It will be a spiritual home, not a physical one – I Corinthians 15:44, 46, 50<\/p>\n
2. The old will be gone – Revelation 21:1<\/p>\n
C. It will be one in which righteous lives <\/p>\n
1. There will be nothing unclean in it – Revelation 21:27<\/p>\n
D. Again, it cannot describe the world since the fall of Jerusalem<\/p>\n
1. I Timothy 4:1 – A falling away in later times<\/p>\n
2. II Timothy 3:1-5 – Difficult times in the last days<\/p>\n
3. These things continue to this day<\/p>\n
V. Don’t get caught up in the empty doctrines of men – I Timothy 6:3-5 <\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Peter 3:1-15 I. Many false doctrines are rooted in a simple belief that word or phrase that has a particular meaning in one context has the same meaning in all other contexts. A. For example, the Greek word presbuteros in Acts 2:17 means someone advanced in age 1. So does it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[744,339,761],"class_list":["post-51878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-preterism","tag-second-coming","tag-understanding"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33826,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-it-make-a-difference-that-the-preposition-used-for-in-the-name-of-is-different-in-various-verses\/","url_meta":{"origin":51878,"position":0},"title":"Does it make a difference that the preposition used for “in the name of” is different in various verses?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have often tried to tell people that \"in the name of\" in Acts 2:38, means or is \"by the authority of.\" When I was looking at the Greek, it has the word \"epi\" in Acts 2:38 for the word \"in\" which means \"on, upon\", and the usage is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46064,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/figures-of-speech\/","url_meta":{"origin":51878,"position":1},"title":"Figures of Speech","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 13:10-17 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A common confusion in reading the Bible is understanding text when figures of speech are used A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A bit odd because all languages of men contain figures of speech, so you think that people would be used to understanding figures B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Statements with literal meaning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61898,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-there-be-more-than-one-coming\/","url_meta":{"origin":51878,"position":2},"title":"Can There Be More Than One Coming?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 20, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Peter 3:1-14 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is a movement that has gotten popular in various churches to state that all references to the Lord\u2019s coming refer to the destruction of Jerusalem. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is frequently called preterism, the A.D. 70 movement, or realized eschatology \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cEschatology\u201d means the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4614,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-were-they-baptized-so-soon\/","url_meta":{"origin":51878,"position":3},"title":"Why Were They Baptized so Soon?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Acts 16:25-33 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When you read through the book of Acts, an odd fact seems to stand out \u2014 everyone is in a big hurry to be baptized. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They don\u2019t wait for another meal, or sleep on the idea, or wait for another day to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69927,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-biblical-meaning-of-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":51878,"position":4},"title":"The Biblical Meaning of Church","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Download Audio by David Bunting Understanding Christ's Church","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63095,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/new-heavens-and-a-new-earth\/","url_meta":{"origin":51878,"position":5},"title":"New Heavens and a New Earth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 65:17-25 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A frequent mistake made in reading the Scriptures is to recognize the meaning of a phrase in one area of the Bible and then assume that the phrase has the same meaning everywhere it is used. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0An example of this is found\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51878\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}