II Peter 3:10
V
erse 10, But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.I. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.
A. It seems odd to speak of the "day of the Lord" and a "thief in the night" in the same breath.
1. "Day of the Lord" speaks of a time.
2. "Thief in the night" speaks of the condition God will find when He returns.
B. Day of the Lord.
1. Jesus is the light of the world.
2. When He comes, it will be light in all the world.
3. When Jesus begins to rule and reign on this earth, He will never stop, for His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
C. Matt. 24:36 makes a distinction between the day and the hour of the Lord.
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
D. Thief in the night.
1. This phrase doesn't mean that Christ shall return at night!
a. This would be physically impossible because it is never night on all the earth at the same time.
b. Approximately half of the earth will be experiencing darkness and the other half will be experiencing light.
2. This phrase is talking about the condition of the people.(I Thess 5:1-8)
a. I Thess. 5:4-8 - There are those who are of the night. (They are lost.)
b. They are not looking for the Lord to return, therefore they will be sleeping (not aware of what is going on around them, or looking for the return of the Lord).
c. God will not "sneak up on them". (See my notes under part III of this verse.)
d. He will announce His coming through fulfilled prophecies and the preaching of the Word, but they won't hear, because they are deaf to the Word of God.
3. Matt. 24:36-44.
a. Notice: in the days of Noah, life continued just like it always had.
b. The unbelievers saw Noah building the ark, but didn't listen to his Godly warnings.
c. They "...knew not until the flood came and took them all away..." (verse 39).
1. It is almost inconceivable that those people "knew not"!
2. They heard Noah preaching to them for 120 years.
3. They watched the building of the ark for 120 years.
4. They knew the words, but didn't believe with their heart that God would actually destroy them by water.
5. Lost people today are just exactly like that.
6. They hear preachers telling them the judgment of God is coming.
7. They see saved people living faithful to God, and know that is the right way to live.
8. They know the words, but don't believe with their heart that God will actually destroy them eternally in the Lake of Fire!
d. Verse 40 and 41 declare that people shall continue working just like they always have, unaware of their soon coming destruction.
4. Heb. 10:25 - Our actions as far as church attendance is based on our belief in the Lord's return.
a. If we are looking for the Lord to return, we will be in church services.
b. If we aren't looking for the Lord to return, we will be lax in our church attendance.
c. Somebody has said: Sunday School attendance shows the popularity of the church; Sunday Evening attendance shows the popularity of the pastor; Wednesday Night attendance shows the popularity of the LORD.
B. Rev. 1:14 states that Christ has eyes of fire.
1. These are the fiery eyes of judgment.
2. All Christ has to do is look at our works and his eyes of fire immediately destroys all the wood, hay, and stubble; leaving only the gold, silver, and precious stones.
C. Every lost person will stand before God and give account for their actions.
1. I Peter 4:17 - The judgment will begin at the house of God, and what is the end of those that believe not the gospel?
2. II Tim. 4:1 - The judgment of the quick (saved) will be at the appearing of Christ and the judgment of the dead (lost) will be at Christ's kingdom.
3. Rev. 20:11-15 tells of the judgment of God upon all the dead (lost) at His kingdom.
1. They will not be judged to see whether they are going to hell or not.
2. They are judged for the degree of punishment they will receive.
3. All the lost are cast into the Lake of Fire.
D. I Cor. 3:11-15 speaks about the judgment of God upon every man who builds upon Jesus Christ.
1. These are supposedly all saved people.
2. I do understand there are some folks who believe they are saved and are building upon Jesus Christ, when in reality they are lost, building upon themselves.
a. Matt. 7:21-23 is an example of people who have prophesied, cast out devils and done many wonderful works in the name of Christ.
b. Christ is not looking for people to do great works in His name.
c. He can do all that without any help.
d. He is looking for those whom He knows.
e. Many people believe it is enough if they know Jesus, but it is much more important that Jesus knows them.
3. Every saved person will receive the reward of their own building.
Balance these two:
Genesis 3:17-19 states that a part of the curse of God is working, earning our living by the sweat of our brow.
Matt. 6:19-21 - Lay not up treasures on this earth, but lay them up in heaven.