1. There are many promises in the Bible, but Peter is not speaking about them.

2. He is restricting his thoughts to the promise of the judgment to come.

1. We assume they have forgotten their promises.

2. They may have found it impossible to do what they said.

3. They may have found it inconvenient to fulfill their word.

1. There is an element of faith is waiting for God when there is no evidence He is doing anything.

2. God is not a man, and we shouldn't treat Him like a man.

1. The reason Christ hasn't returned is because He is waiting on His children to come to him.

2. Some of these children may not be born yet.

3. If Christ would come before they were born, they wouldn't be allowed to enter heavenly bliss with Him.

4. Therefore, Christ waits for them to be born, in their own time, and come to Him.

1. The truth is that God is never unfair.

2. The elect are the children of God who have fallen under the curse of Adam.

3. The non-elect are the children of Satan whom he has caused to come into the world.

4. If anybody is unfair it is Satan.

5. Those poor unfortunate souls would not die and go to hell if Satan, their father, had not created them in the first place.

1. God created this world for His children, not Satan's children.

2. Satan has caused his children to be born into the world, and they face the condemnation of God because they are children of Satan.

1. God created Adam and Eve and gave them the command to replenish (fill) the earth.

2. His perfect plan was for all the inhabitants of the earth to be living souls coming from the bodies of Adam and Eve.

3. These people would be born as time passed on this perfect earth.

4. When all the elect were born, God would come down to this earth and dwell with men.

1. Satan decided he would overcome God by sitting on His heavenly throne and ruling instead of Him.

2. Satan sowed wild seeds (his children) in God's perfect earth, which intermingled, with the seeds of God (God's children).

3. Satan's children and God's children are both born as time continues going by.

4. When all God's children are born, grow up hear the gospel and repent unto salvation, God will return to this earth.

5. He will cause a great separating to take place between His children and the children of Satan.

6. He will cast the children of Satan into the Lake of Fire, and burn this earth with fire, cleansing it from all sin.

7. He will create a new heavens and new earth.

8. He will place His children on the new earth, and will come down from heaven and dwell with them for all eternity.

1. All Satan's efforts to destroy God will be destroyed.

2. Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire.

3. God will receive more honor and glory for overcoming Satan than He would have gotten had Satan not rebelled.

1. "Day of the Lord" speaks of a time.

2. "Thief in the night" speaks of the condition God will find when He returns.

1. Jesus is the light of the world.

2. When He comes, it will be light in the entire world.

3. When Jesus begins to rule and reign on this earth, He will never stop, for His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.

1. The day of the Lord would be a much broader term than hour.

2. A day is a 24-hour period.

3. An hour would be a specific (and much smaller) part of a particular day.

4. The day seems to be speaking about the whole general scope of the Lord's return, the destruction of the world, and the new heaven and new earth, while the hour speaks of the exact time Christ

1. This phrase doesn't mean that Christ shall return at night!

2. This phrase is talking about the condition of the people. (I Thess 5:1-8)

3. Matt. 24:36-44.

4. Heb. 10:25 - Our actions as far as church attendance is based on our belief in the Lord's return.

1. We must remember that Peter is inspired of God.

2. He probably read these things in the Old Testament, but I don't know where right now.

1. Peter is the only apostle that is not looking for the Lord's return.

2. II Tim. 4:6 - Paul is ready to be offered, and he understands that the time of his departure from this life is at hand.

3. Therefore, we conclude that Peter was obedient when he was expecting to die before the Lord's return and Paul was obedient when he was expecting the Lord's return before he died.

1. One principle of prophetic interpretation is never go by the verse or chapter divisions.

2. Luke 4:16-21 - Jesus was in Nazareth and read Isaiah 61:1, and part of verse 2.

3. Please read Isaiah 61:1-3.

4. Jesus declared that the scripture He read was fulfilled in their eyes that very day.

5. There were other parts of Isaiah 61:1-3 that wasn't fulfilled that day, but would surely be fulfilled at a later date.

6. Peter is doing the same thing Jesus did.

7. There are many erroneous views of scripture because we don't rightly divide the scriptures as commanded in II　Tim. 2:15.

1. How does he know there will be a great noise?

2. Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

3. I believe this is the heavens this verse is talking about.

4. The Bible doesn't say that the heavens will be "un-created".

5. The fire of God will purify them.

6. I Cor. 15:35-52 - The natural body dies, is buried, decays, and at the resurrection is changed into a resurrected body, holy, glorious, and without sin.

1. This part of the verse is not just talking about the earth, but about all the elements that cause this entire universe to be what it is.

2. The word "element" speaks of the lowest basic parts that make up this earth.

1. We must get used to the idea that this earth is a temporary dwelling place.

2. Everything that makes up a work for this earth will be destroyed by fire.

3. All the soil will be burned up.

1. Rev. 20:1 - John calls it a new heaven and new earth because it is so remarkable different from the old one.

2. This heaven and earth contains no sin at all.

3. The heaven where God dwells now will also be burned up with fire because the stain of sin.

4. Satan has been in heaven, carrying his sinfulness with him.

1. They are where God was before He created His present dwelling place.

2. There being no sea on the new earth shows two things:

1. They believe the Anti-Christ will have to explain a lot of catastrophes and missing people.

2. They talk of airplanes and cars crashing and many lost people dying as a result of a saved pilot or driver being taken away.

3. There may be planes and cars crashing, but they will be the result of an event the lost world won't want to see, even though they know it has happened.

1. Verse 16 states that the Lord Jesus Himself shall come.

1. Peter knows he won’t be around when the destruction of the world takes place, because he believes in the rapture of the saints, but also because Christ told him he would die before the day of the Lord – John 21:18,19.

2. Peter wants the disciples of that day to know how to live even after he is deceased from this world. II Peter 1: 12-15.

1. When saved people really believe the coming destruction of this world, it will give them the proper outlook between physical and spiritual things.

2. They will strive more and more to be the kind of people they know they ought to be.

3. They will see the importance of holiness, even if they don't understand everything about the end of the world.

1. Some believe that since everything material is going to be destroyed, we shouldn't work for any of that.

2. Others don't believe the judgment of God is coming, that the only pleasures there are in this life are material possessions, therefore they ought to work all they can for those things.

3. The balance comes from the scripture, not from our minds.

4. When a person works hard, rightly placing themselves under the judgment of God, they are admitting the curse of God is good, and God will bless them for that.

Matt. 6:19-21 - Lay not up treasures on this earth, but lay them up in heaven.

God gives every person things they can enjoy in this life.

1. Running water.

2. Inside bathrooms.

3. Air conditioners.

4. Automobiles.

5. Insurance.

6. Refrigerators.

7. Televisions.

8. Radios

9. Electricity.

10. Etc.

1. Food.

2. Clothing.

3. Shelter.

4. Children (for the propagation of the race).

5. Proper instruction as to how to live, and the transference of that instruction to the next generation.

1. We ought to look forward to that approaching day with great anticipation of happiness.

2. I John 4:18 states that perfect love casteth out fear.

3. Therefore, if we love God like we know we ought to, we won't have any dread or fear of approaching Him.

4. We know that He loves us in spite of our sinfulness and wickedness.

5. He knows that we are people still filled with the sinful nature.

6. Even though we struggle to do right, we continually do wrong.

7. This is not an excuse to sin, but a reason for sin.

8. We are not willing to sin, but willing not to sin.

9. We sin in spite of our struggles, not because we don't struggle.

1. If we, as children of God, are where we ought to be, we will understand that God's judgment upon wickedness is very just.

2. Israel was commanded to go into the land of Canaan and kill every person.

3. They were to kill the soldiers, the old men, all the women, whether young or old, all the children, regardless of their age or physical condition.

4. These people had offended God and since they are the creation of God, He has the right to do with them as He sees fit.

5. We must come to the same place in this life as God expected Israel to come in that day.

6. We must learn to look at things the way God looks at them, not the way we look at them.

7. God looks at things with eyes of righteousness, and unbiased justice.

1. When sin came into the world in Genesis 3, there was hope because of the promise that Jesus would die for sins.

2. When the flood came upon the earth, there was hope because of the promise God gave to Noah and his family.

3. When Abraham was living in Ur of the Chaldeans, there was hope because of the promise God gave to Abraham.

4. When lost people realize they are lost, they have hope if they trust Christ to save them from their sins.

5. When sickness comes, there is hope in Christ for we know that whatever the outcome, God will never leave us, nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

6. When death comes there can still be hope for we realize that "...though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:" Job 19:25.

7. I Cor. 15:54, "...this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory."

1. Abraham went out of his country because God commanded him.

2. He lived in tents, wandering about from place to place in the very land he was to inhabit, although he didn't have title to it at that time.

3. The land of Canaan had to be purified with the blood of the inhabitants because they were exceedingly great sinners before God.

4. When that cleansing was finished, Israel was instructed to dwell in that land.

5. By faith, Abraham looked for a heavenly city, not an earthly city, whose builder and maker is God.

1. We are living on the very earth that we will inhabit eternally.

2. This present universe must be purified because of the exceeding great sins in it.

3. Jesus has shed His blood for the sins of fallen man, but most of these men have failed to ask God for forgiveness.

4. Those people have been delegated to eternal hell, fire and brimstone, yet that eternal fire will never cleanse their sins.

5. God will send His holy fire to the earth in order to cleanse it.

6. God did not give his blood for the forgiveness of the earth, but for the sins of the people who live on the earth.

7. He will give his fire for the cleansing of the heavens and earth (material things).

1. The return of the Lord Jesus Christ in the rapture and

2. Our living righteous lives because of the nearness of his day.

1. Our salvation does not depend on how we live, but on the precious blood of Jesus Christ, who has freely paid our sin debt on Calvary's cross.

2. We live righteous lives because we are already accepted.

3. We want to please our Father.

4. We want to begin to possess now those heavenly qualities that are fit for eternity.

1. This word means, "to try very hard".

2. We are saved, kept, and live by the grace of God.

3. We are still responsible to strive in our flesh for holiness.

4. Not fleshly holiness, but strive in our flesh for spiritual holiness.

1. Matt. 24:43-51 - This unfaithful servant was found of the Lord and lost all his inheritance, yet retained salvation because that doesn't depend on works.

2. Matt. 25:1-13 - Five of the ten virgins were not prepared to meet the Lord and weren't allowed to enter into the marriage.

1. In peace, with God and saints.

2. Without spot, before God.

3. Blameless, before God and man. To be blameless is not to be sinless, this verse is not teaching "sinless perfection". I think being honest with ourselves with God by scripturally using the scriptures, then living according to those scriptures is a large part of being blameless.

1. It is right to be best before God, but the best of "modern" religion is before men.

2. There is nothing wrong with being big before God, but most "modern" religion gauges the success of a church by its attendance, the amount of its annual budget, and the number of its programs.

3. The sad thing about judging a church's' success by its size is "big is not always better!"

1. God expects us to be at peace with God, our fellowman and ourselves.

2. God expects us to be "without spot", before Him, not necessarily what men think of us.

3. God expects us to be blameless before Him, not necessarily what men think of us.