The End of the World | 2 Peter 3

Welcome to Real Life. Recently, wildfires in Colorado have destroyed thousands of acres of forest and hundreds of homes. The devastation is difficult for me to imagine. I’ve never lost a home to fire. 

Yet, one day this entire world will be engulfed in flames:

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. 

The heavens will disappear with a roar;
the elements will be destroyed by fire,
and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.[1]

God revealed this prophecy through the apostle Peter 2000 years ago. Scoffers say, “It’ll never happen.” Life goes on as it has since the world began – and it will go on forever.

It’s easy to fall into that mindset. Life changes little from day to day. It feels like things will go on the same way forever. Actually though, things are constantly changing. America is different than it was 100 years ago. My street has changed since I moved in 30 years ago. My body is different than it was 5 years ago. I have less energy and more wrinkles. Though these signs tell me I’m growing older, I pretend I’m still 35. I pretend that life will never change.

The earth itself feels eternal. But life on this planet did not always exist. The world had a beginning. It will have an ending. It was destroyed once by a worldwide flood.[2] It will be destroyed again by fire (nuclear holocaust?).

Still scoffers say, “They’ve been predicting this forever. It hasn’t happened in 2000 years, it’ll never happen.” Two thousand years is a long time to us, but God sees time differently. With him, 1000 years is like one day. God’s not slow, he’s patient. He’s patiently waiting for more people to turn away from sin, come to him and be saved. He’s patiently waiting for me and you.

Make no mistake. The end will come. It will arrive like a thief in the night (when we least expect it). Or like an out-of-control wildfire. Am I ready? Peter asks:

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?
You ought to live holy and godly lives as you
look forward to the day of God and speed its coming…
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward
to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells…
make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.[3]

Dear Lord, show me how to live with eternity in mind. 

Taking it further … 

• Have you ever turned away from your sin and turned to God? To investigate this further, call (888) Need-Him or visit www.needhim.org. 

• Thoughts by David Platt from his book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream:

You and I have an average of about seventy or eighty years on this earth. During these years we are bombarded with the temporary. Make money. Get stuff. Be comfortable. Live well. Have fun. In the middle of it all, we get blinded to the eternal. But it’s there. You and I stand on the porch of eternity. Both of us will soon stand before God to give an account for our stewardship of the time, the resources, the gifts, and ultimately the gospel he has entrusted to us. When that day comes, we are convinced we will not wish we had given more of ourselves to living the American Dream. We will not wish we had made more money, acquired more stuff, lived more comfortably, taken more vacations, watched more television, pursued greater retirement, or been more successful in the eyes of this world. Instead we will wish we had given more of ourselves to living for the day when every nation, tribe, people, and language will bow around the throne and sing the praises of the Savior who delights in radical obedience and the God who deserves eternal worship. 

• More questions?  Check out www.truthnet.org for more information on the end of the world and other topics.

[1] 2 Peter 3:10
[2] See Answers in Genesis website for evidence of a worldwide flood. http://www.answersingenesis.org/get-answers/features/worldwide-flood-evidence.
[3] Portions of 2 Peter 3:11-14

Image from: http://serc.carleton.edu/images/NAGTWorkshops/hazards/wildfire_300.jpg