Good morning to everyone. We're gonna start a little series now. We just finished the book 1st Peter, 2nd Peter. We're just gonna have a brief break here, a little series on basically the day of the Lord. We talked in 2nd Peter 3 about the truth that the day of the Lord will come. There's a lot going on in the world right now. I hear a lot of buzz from Christian teachers in the Christian world about Israel and what's happening and the signs of the times. 

I thought it would be good to talk about these things—to talk about God's creative intent, what he intended to do in creation and choosing out the nation of Israel. To talk about the centrality of Israel and eschatology and the phrase the day of the Lord in the scriptures. So we'll be going through that this morning, maybe the next two or three weeks. 

This morning, I want to go back to Peter's words at the end of his second epistle that we've been studying and also want to look at, as Mark read, 1st Thessalonians 4 and 5. Peter gives us tremendous, really several tremendous promises in those last words of his letter, and those words are packed with practical meaning for us concerning the end times—what is to come and what our focus should be. 

Considering these truths, that's what really matters: what does it mean to us and application in our time? Peter makes that clear. He also mentions that Paul writes about these same things in all his epistles. In 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, Paul gives us more important information about the times and the seasons, what is to come, and he also gives us the proper perspective that we should have about these things and how these promises should affect the way that we live today and throughout our time on this earth should the Lord tarry. 

Well, the subject of eschatology is a vast study in the scriptures. It's also a very interesting topic by way of application for the church. It seems that the unknown tends to grab our attention and generally leaves us a little bit unsettled when it comes to the things that are yet to come. Certainly, the troubles and cares, the injustices and wickedness of our world, the evil intent of the leaders of the world and those in power can cause a great deal of worry and distress. 

But the scriptures are pretty clear about the perspective we are to have about the things that are yet to come, as well as the knowledge that God has chosen to reveal to us, and also how we should live in light of his coming—what our focus should be, what God has not chosen to reveal to us, as well as the work that he has for us to do in our time here. 

What I'd like to do this morning and over the next couple of weeks is lay a foundation of understanding from the scriptures that help us to understand the things that are yet to come and what God wants us to know—what he has told us we cannot know and what manner of persons we ought to be in light of the promise of his coming. 

There are a lot of different views and systems of theology within Christendom concerning eschatology. A lot of Christians spend a lot of time and effort and mental energy trying to sort out and discover some new detail or insight into the things that are yet to come. God has given us a great deal of revelation in his word concerning these events—things that we can know. But he’s also been very clear in his word that there are things that we cannot know. 

Jesus told us that no one knows the day or the hour of his coming. They do not know when he will come. Paul tells us in 1st Thessalonians 5:1 and following that concerning the times and the seasons, the epics and the chronos, we do not need to know. We know the Lord will come; he will come like a thief in the night, suddenly, unexpectedly. 

We're given much instruction about how we are to live in light of the truth of his coming. But all the details, all the minutiae, the answers to thousands of questions that we have, he has not necessarily revealed to us. He's not chosen to tell us the timing for sure of his coming. He has told us to live for him, to be holy, to be witnesses, to preach the gospel, to love men as he loves men, to bring him glory in all that we do, to be faithful today. 

Yet men spend their lives trying to find some nuggets, some detail that will tell them when Jesus is coming. Some believers, our friends down in Indiana that we know, recommended a sermon to us by a teacher they're followers of, and this man is one of these teachers who's heavily involved in studies concerning eschatology. 

The message was about the day and the hour, and I listened to about ten minutes of it. His premise was really that when Jesus said that no one can know the day or the hour, that that was true when he said it. But when he died, was buried, rose again, and after Jesus ascended into heaven, he and the Father had a meeting, and Jesus learned the day and the hour that he would come, and he revealed these things to the Apostle John in the book of Revelation. 

It is meant for us to study so that we might know the timing of his coming. I don't know anything about this man or his ministry, but I do know that we have some very confused friends, constantly talking about signs and wonders in the soon coming of Christ. Christians are continually looking for signs: "This happened in Israel; this is a sign of his coming; this happened in Europe," or "Governments of men are wicked; there are wars and oppression and trials and tribulations and earthquakes and floods and hurricanes. The financial situation is dire; America is doomed; the stock market is down; the stock market is up; the Arabs did this; Israel did that; there's a peace accord." 

My brothers and sisters, God has chosen not to reveal the time of his coming, and Jesus said you cannot know the day or the hour. His coming is sure; it's according to his promise. He will come and set things right on the earth. He will come and catch us up to be with him forever. He will keep his promise, but concerning the times and seasons, we do not know. 

I trust in the course of our studies that we are not to be looking for signs, but we are to be looking for Jesus. The clear message of the scriptures for us, for the church now in this age, is concerning how we should live and what we should be doing in this time—not overwhelmed and worried about what is yet to come in the day of the Lord like the Thessalonians were. God will judge. Jesus will set up his kingdom. All of the physical world will be destroyed, and God will create a new heavens and a new earth. 

In light of these promises, Peter says, "What manner of persons ought you to be?" Now today and every day in holy conduct and godliness, witnessing in this world by word and by deed. That's enough for me, my friend, to seek by God's grace to be faithful today to what he has called me to do. 

God has given us much revelation, prophecy about the end times, and he wants us to know that which he has revealed to us. He gives us prophecy for our comfort, for our hope. He wants us to study these things and rightly divide the word and have a foundational grasp of the promises. He's given the truth that he is in control, that Jesus wins in the end. He wants us to know his salvation plans, the centrality of Israel, the promises that he has made to her, and he will keep. 

Lord willing, over the next couple of weeks, we will lay this foundation of understanding. We will gain that general knowledge and be comforted by the words of God, the promises of God, and will be inspired—compelled to live the rest of our lives for the one who died for us—to be as witnesses, as foreigners, as sojourners, as ambassadors in this foreign land—a world that is not our home. 

These are important matters to sort out, to have a firm grasp and understanding of, and to know how we should live concerning these things. It’s been two and a half years since we studied the day of the Lord in 1st Thessalonians 5. Some of you remember that in that time, we spent three messages concerning the creative intent of God and how his will will come to pass in the future—the original intent he had in creation and also in choosing out the nation of Israel, and how he will fulfill that. 

That one song we sang this morning mentioned that his will will be fulfilled. As Mark read from Isaiah 55, I believe the intent that God had will be fulfilled. That's a great piece of the puzzle for our understanding. 

We also studied the centrality of Israel and God's salvation and eschatological plans, and we studied the phrase the day of the Lord, what it means, how it will be fully and finally fulfilled. Well, it occurred to me that many of you may not have been here for those studies and also that in light of all that's going on in the world, all of us could use a refresher or reminder of these things. 

So we'll work out of 2nd Peter 3, the end of our study there, and bring in 1st Thessalonians 4 and 5—reviewing and refreshing this information to renew our minds to the promises. 

So let's look at that text again, 2nd Peter 3:10. Pay attention and notice what Peter says about the day of the Lord here because this is a full section that gives us a lot of information. He says, "But the day of the Lord will come." First of all, it will come as a thief in the night. It will come suddenly, unexpectedly, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise. 

These are the events that will happen in the scope of the day of the Lord: the heavens will pass away with a great noise, the elements will melt with fervent heat, both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. 

Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Now again, go back to 1st Thess 4 with me, please. 1st Thess 4:16. 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. 

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus, we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words. In 5:1, he says concerning the times and seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 

For when they say, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness so that this day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day; we are not of the night nor of darkness. 

I've given you four points on your outline: first according to his promise, second comfort one another, third God's creative intent, and fourth witness holiness and hope. Well, I came across a YouTube video the other day of a Christian teacher. The title of the video was something like "Six Signs Fulfilled Showing That Jesus Is Coming Soon." I watched the video, and it was in conjunction with a man living in Israel who was seemingly in the know about the things happening there. 

The two men went through six signs that they said were all being fulfilled in Israel now, clearly telling us that Jesus is going to be here very soon. The first was a time of peace in the Middle East. Don't think about that for a minute. The man said this even though we are at war right now, we are seeing the foundation laid for great peace. 

But that was an interesting perspective; not sure it was fulfilled. The second sign was the temple in Jerusalem, which I thought was peculiar because I haven't seen any sign of a temple being constructed on the temple mount. But the plans are made and so forth, and the temple institute—he went into all that. Everything's ready, and then there’s the red heifer—they’ve found a red heifer, maybe three red heifers are possible. 

He went on from there talking about all these signs and saying how they've been fulfilled in their fulfillment of prophecy. They haven't been fulfilled! Are things ready? Yeah, maybe. You know, things being worked out? Can you see it happen? You see it more possible maybe than you used to? Yes. But they're not fulfilled. 

I heard a preacher go on the other day about how this war in Israel with Hamas is the fulfillment of some prophecy that will occur in the tribulation time when the Antichrist is ruling, and yet I do not believe the Antichrist has been revealed, nor have we seen the apostasy, the falling away that Paul says must precede the commencement of the day of the Lord and all that will occur in it. 

Teachers, prophecy experts within the context of the church are continually pointing us to signs and prophecies fulfilled and how they are somehow revealing the timing of Jesus coming—whether that be a specific date or a greater nearness. The Bible tells us that when Jesus comes, he will come quickly, suddenly, unexpectedly. It does not tell us he will come soon, as in the chronos of time. 

The details of the timing you do not need to know. Jesus cautions you will not know; you cannot know. We at Living Hope Church believe in a pre-millennial return of Christ and a pre-tribulational rapture of the church. 

What this means is that the next event in God's salvation plan is the rapture. Paul writes so clearly about that in the text we just read in 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18. Jesus gave us this promise in John 14 when he said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me. In My Father's house are many mansions," and he says this: "If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also." 

When I go you know and the way you know we believe that the rapture of the church is imminent, and through the course of our studies the next couple of weeks, we're not going to do that this morning. I'm not going to prove my case on that, but in the next couple of weeks, prayerfully, we will establish that truth. 

But my friends, what that means by definition is that there are no events that must precede the coming of Christ to catch up his bride, the church. There are no signs to be fulfilled. Nothing else must happen. If there is one event, one sign that must precede the rapture, one prophecy to be fulfilled, then the rapture is not imminent. It is not ready to happen at any moment. It's not hanging overhead. 

I always think of—I don't know if we're gonna get any snow this year, but you know, we'll get snow, don't worry. But you know, up in Bessemer, I was up there one like March time, and there was this big snow hanging off of a roof. You know how it does? It'll go out maybe three, four feet, and then it was hanging. You think, wow, it's just about any...now, you know, now. That's what imminence means. 

It doesn't mean it's going to be soon; it means that it can happen at any time. There are no signs to be fulfilled. So if there are, by definition, no events or signs that must precede the rapture of the church, then why are we constantly looking for signs? 

We're trying to place events in our world, in Israel or wherever, in some prophetic timeline of events that are necessarily going to occur after the rapture. I understand the idea of setting the stage, of laying the groundwork, but this has been true since Jesus utters his words of warning in Matthew 24. 

I understand the technology, the movement toward a one-world government, all the stars aligning, but we do not know what this means concerning the timing. Jesus could come today; I hope he does, or it could be 10,000 years. We don't know. All of the things we see are consistent with the way the world will be, the way Israel will be before the rapture, before the beginning of the day of the Lord. 

I would imagine during World War II the Christians were pretty worked up when six million Jews were killed and all the world was at war and all that was going on. The time of peace in Israel under the rise of the Antichrist cannot happen before the rapture of the church, according to the pre-trib view. 

The Tribulation Temple cannot be constructed until the time of the Tribulation. The Red Heifer will not be sacrificed until the consecration of that temple. The abomination of desolation cannot happen until after all of these things. The mark of the beast occurs within this time frame. So why do we keep trying to find a sign? Why do we strive so earnestly to nail down a time to try to figure out when he is coming? 

The point is that we live like he is coming today, every day. My brothers and sisters, we are not to be looking for signs; we are to be looking for Jesus. And what does it mean to be looking for Jesus, to be looking up, to be anticipating? It means to be living like he's coming today, being about the work of the Master. If we knew he was coming home today, we would live a little differently. 

What we have, what we know, all that we have, my brothers and sisters, we have by way of promise, by the way of God's revelation in his word. Peter writes, "We, according to his promise, anticipate, look forward to a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." We, according to his promise, know that he will come to take us to be with him forever, will come at any time to catch us up, to raise those who are dead in Christ and glorify those who are alive and remain until his coming. And we are now to live in light of that promise. 

Let's look at Matthew 24, verse 3, please. Matthew 24, verse 3. The disciples wanted to know what time too. As he said on the Mount of Olives, it says, "The disciples came to him privately, saying, 'Tell us when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?'" They want to know when, and they want a sign. 

And Jesus answered and said to them, "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many, and you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. 

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold, but he who endures to the end shall be saved. 

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. The disciples asked Jesus when; what will be the sign? And Jesus’ first response was this: "Be not deceived." Many will seek to deceive you, and he lists all the things that will persist from that time all the way to the end of the age. 

Wars, rumors of wars, disease, pestilence, fighting men rising up against one another, oppressive governments, earthquakes, natural disasters. These are events that will be typical of this age, not signs of his near coming. Notice he says, "The end is not yet." This is not the sign of my physical return to the earth, he says. 

And then Jesus moves to the time of the Tribulation, the Day of the Lord, and he says the sign of his coming will be what? His appearance in the sky, like the lightning flashes from the east to the west. So all will see him when he comes to judge. The events he lays out, from the abomination of desolation to the great time of Jacob's trouble and the pouring out of God's wrath on this earth, as described in the book of Revelation, these are signs that will precede his physical coming to set his feet on the Mount of Olives and judge the nations. 

We're going to see this so clearly prophesied in Zephaniah and Joel when it talks about the Day of the Lord. Sometimes when the scripture uses the phrase the Day of the Lord, it's speaking of the day when the nations are gathered, and Jesus sets his feet on the earth and judges. 

But these are signs that will happen in the Day of the Lord—not now. Not before the rapture of the church. What we have, we have by revelation. What we have, we have by promise, and the promise is that Jesus is coming back to take us to be with him—that he will come with a shout, with the trumpet of God, and will catch us up to be with him forever. 

And I want you to notice something very important about these promises of God to his church in 1st Thessalonians 4 and 5. He gives us these truths, Paul tells us. The problem in Thessalonica, as we'll see, was that they were anticipating the coming of the Lord. After Paul had gone there and founded the church and taught them, they believed in a pre-tribulational rapture, and they were thinking it was coming any moment. They were living like that. 

Some maybe a little too much and quit working, and some of these things, but they had a great anticipation. And then what happened was they started to endure great persecution. Then some false teachers came in, and even a letter was written, forged in Paul's name, and told them they had missed the rapture and that they were in the Day of the Lord. Because of the great persecution, they were susceptible to that, the false teachers. 

So Paul wants to say, "Listen, no! Those believers who've died, they didn't miss anything. They're going to be raised first. You didn't miss the rapture. You're not in the Day of the Lord, because the Day of the Lord's not going to come until, until, until," and he gives them instruction. But notice what he says, verse 18 of 1st Thess 4. He says, "Therefore, comfort one another with these words." 

1st Thess 5:11, "Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing." Paul is writing to a New Testament church, to believers, and he's writing not in a strict doctrinal sense—not to give all the details of God's eschatological plans—but in a pastoral sense. There was confusion and despair in that church concerning these things, and he was telling them the truth, the revelation of the Word of God, so that they could take this truth, this promise, and comfort each other. That was the point. 

Paul wanted to give them the truth, the promises of God, and his main intent was comfort—comfort one another with these words. Encourage and edify the truth. The promise of the rapture of the church before the Day of the Lord was a comfort, but it was not a promise of deliverance from the wrath of man, from persecution in this life. 

They were experiencing persecution, as so many believers have and do in the church today. The purpose of the rapture of the church is not to keep believers from suffering in this world; it's not a promise of protection from persecution. We will see that it is part of God's salvation plan and his purposes of the Day of the Lord and the time of tribulation for Israel. 

The main reason I believe and hold to a pre-tribulational rapture of the church is because Daniel says in chapter 9 that the seven-year tribulation that is to come is determined for your people Israel, God says, and your holy city Jerusalem. The reason the church is raptured and taken out is not to deliver us from a time of trouble but for God to turn to Israel and deal with them. 

The seven years is about Israel, and therefore the church has no place in that. We are not promised that we won't suffer the wrath of men in this world. In fact, we are promised the opposite, aren't we? Jesus said, "You will suffer." Paul said, "All who desire to live godly in this ungodly age will suffer persecution." 

But it is a comfort that we're going to be taken out of here before that time, isn't it? And it is true that Paul says, "You're not appointed to the time of wrath, verse thus five, but to obtain salvation." It is a comfort; it is true that we are going to be delivered before the tribulation time, and the point of the promise is comfort. 

We may suffer now; we may be persecuted if it is the will of God, if it is necessary. Remember Peter's words to a suffering church in his first epistle: "You may now suffer for a little while, if need be, if God determines that's what's best." But salvation is coming. Paul had his head removed by Nero's sword after spending all that time in the Mamertine prison in the sewers of Rome. Peter was crucified upside down. There's no promise of deliverance from suffering, from persecution—in fact, the opposite is true—and we will suffer, but there is a promise of glorification, of salvation, of the catching up of the church, and this is a comfort for us. 

That's the point; that's the intent of Paul's writings. And so the reality of the rapture, the tribulation, the Antichrist, the Day of the Lord is not meant to frighten or alarm us; this revelation, these promises are not meant to be sensationalized or cause us to worry or to fear. They are meant for our comfort, for our peace, for our hope. 

"Comfort one another with these words." So we see, according to his promise, we see comfort one another. And next, we see God's creative intent, and this is so vitally important for us to understand if we are to rightly divide the word of truth if we're to understand these things properly. 

We need to step back, and we need to get a very broad view of God's creative intent and his eternal salvation plan in light of the fall of man and how he will bring to consummation his will on earth. I love that Isaiah 55 passage that Mark read this morning because it says God will accomplish his intent, and if we understand that, we'll understand a lot more. 

Let's go back to Genesis 1:24. The creation account: “Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind, cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind.' And it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 

Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in his own image; in the image of God, he created him, male and female he created them. 

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' And God said, 'See, I have given you every herb that yields seed, which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be your food. 

Also to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and everything that creeps on the earth in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food.' And it was so. Then God saw everything that he made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day." 

When God created the earth and all that was in it, he made man, and he set man over the works of his hands. It was God's intention in creating to have man have dominion over the earth and to rule and reign as his agent on the earth. God desired a theocracy; that was his intention in creation. He would rule through his representative man on earth, and everything would be subjected to man. 

But this did not last long, as we know. Because Adam fell and brought sin into the world and death through sin, and God's creative intent was turned upside down. Now the world would rule over man through thorns and thistles and storms and disaster and disease and pestilence and the ruler of this age, Satan. Man would now be subject to creation rather than the other way around and live by the sweat of his brow, subject to sin and death and the cares and troubles and temptations of this world system. 

If not for the grace of God, man would die in his sins and spend eternity separated from God, and never would God's creative intent be realized on this earth. We see a similar fate in the nation of Israel. God chose out Israel as his own special people. He set them as a city on a hill, a light to the world. What was his intent? To draw all the nations to himself. They were to be his witness, be his people on earth— a government, laws given to guide and direct another attempt at theocratic rule on the earth. 

But Israel rebelled against God, did not obey, and was corrupted to the point that when their Messiah came, they crucified him. My friends, God has not yet fulfilled his creative intent. Let's look at Hebrews chapter two. Hebrews chapter two at verse five. 

This is a very interesting passage. In context, the author of Hebrews is comparing Jesus to angels, and he's talking about angels, but he gives us some interesting details here. He says, "For he has not put the world to come of which we speak in subjection to angels. But one testified in a certain place, saying, 'What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of your hands. 

You have put all things in subjection under his feet, for in that he put all in subjection under him; he left nothing that is not put under him.'" So this is, again, reiterating what we read in Genesis one. God's intent in creation was to set man over the works of his hands, to put all things in subjection under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. We don't see it that way in the world. It's not that way in the world; God's creative intent has not been fulfilled. 

Verse nine, "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone." The phrase at the beginning of that passage, "world to come," is oikumene. It means "inhabited earth," the inhabited earth which is yet to come. God has not put that world in subjection to angels but to who? 

It is man that God has set over the works of his hands, that God is mindful of, takes care of. "You've put all in subjection under his feet," but we don't see it that way yet. We see Jesus, he says. My brothers and sisters, Jesus is the hope. Jesus is the promise of the fulfillment of the intention of God in creation. You follow me? 

Jesus will be ruler on this earth, and we will see a true and real theocracy, and God's will shall be fulfilled. We will see this in the millennial kingdom where Jesus will rule and reign from David's throne, and we shall rule with him. This is not only the consummation of God's salvation plan for the church and for Israel, but it's also the fulfillment of his creative intent. His will will come to pass. 

And we will see this with Israel as well in the kingdom. Israel will worship God as God intended. They will be obedient to him, and they will lead the nations to him. The prophecies tell us that ten men, ten Gentiles will grab the shirttail of the Jew, and he will lead them to Jerusalem, to the temple, to worship. 

We must see the whole plan of God and the broad scope of his salvation plan, beginning with understanding his intention in creation, his intention in Israel, his purpose to bring all things to consummation in Christ if we're going to understand the things that are yet to come. And we will see that the Day of the Lord—slow preview here—the Day of the Lord is the process by which God will bring all of these things to pass, where Jesus will take back what is rightly his as he takes the title deed to the earth as we see the scroll in the book of Revelation, and he opens those seals. 

He's the only one worthy to open the seals and brings judgment and rule and reign over the creation. We'll dig into the details a little more next week and look at some of the apocryphal scriptures, but I want you to think on these things. The Day of the Lord is the process by where Jesus takes back what is rightly his. 

Think about how these things will help us to know why we believe what we believe. It's important that we understand why we believe what we believe from the word of God, and it's important that we deal with all the scriptures honestly, even the ones that don't seem to agree with our system of thinking. And if we don't have an answer, we better figure one out or change our system of thinking. 

Now, I just want to close with Peter's application again for us now in the church. 2nd Peter 3:10, our text again. "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. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up." 

Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness—looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God? Our brothers and sisters, these are amazing events that are coming. Jesus is coming. God is going to judge the wicked, set all things right. He's coming to deliver the righteous, to transform us, glorify us, and take us to be with him forever. 

Profound, amazing, mysterious events are coming. We don't know when. But it's sure and it is true, and it could begin now or now or now with the rapture of the church. What does this mean to us? Peter says, "Considering all these truths, what manner of persons ought you to be?" The answer is witnessing people. The answer is holy people. The answer is hopeful people. 

It's good to study these things to know, to have a good understanding. It's not good to become consumed by these events and fear these events or be anxious about what is to come. Our focus must be eternal now. We must be concerned with the spiritual state of those whom God brings into our lives—to witness to them, to persuade them, to implore them to be reconciled to God through faith in Christ. 

We must be holy people, living a life worthy of our calling in consistency with who we are because of and by the grace of God. And we must be hopeful people. Peter says, "Rest your hope fully on the grace to be revealed when Jesus comes." We are not anxious, unsettled, fretting souls. We see the world for what it is, and we look with anticipation. 

We remain under the trials and struggles of this life, trusting the Lord, and we are fully confident that Jesus is all that we need, that God's grace is sufficient, that our hope will be realized when Jesus comes. Comfort one another with these words. The promises, the truth of his coming, the end time events should be comfort to us because, my friends, we know and believe and trust our God. He is faithful. He will keep his word, and he will bring these things to pass and he will fully accomplish his will and purpose as his word has gone forth. 

Let's close in prayer. Father, we thank you that you tell us the truth. We thank you that you give us comforting words, that you tell us about suffering and trouble and trial and all the things that come upon us in this world—the injustice of the world and the way men hurt each other and all these things that grieve us and most certainly grieve you. But you're patient; you're long-suffering, not willing that any should perish. The long-suffering of the Lord is salvation. 

So, Father, we wanna be faithful. We want to do your work today in the time that you have us here. Help us to be focused on that, on abiding in Jesus, letting the word of Christ dwell in us richly, walking in the Spirit so that we might be witnesses by word and by deed to proclaim your death till you come. And Lord, help us to have peace, to have joy and security in the promise of your coming. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.