18th century British writer Samuel Johnson said, 'Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.' Peter makes a similar observation connected to a question in the last chapter of his second letter. Since these things will take place, the dissolving of the world … Continue reading How Should We Live in Light of the End of Time?
I am so glad Jesus did not return before 1972; that was the year the goodness of the Lord led me to repentance. Some of you could say the same about 1990, or 2000, or maybe someone here or listening online would say that about 2024! Peter says in his second letter with regard to … Continue reading The Lord’s Gracious Delay
Are you scoffer? Or are you settled in your faith? Scoffers will come in, Peter wrote in his second letter, and we need to be ready for that. Why do they scoff at what they don’t understand? Peter tells us, and so does Jude. They scoff because they are “following their own desires,” Peter wrote. … Continue reading Scoffer…or settled?
In Peter’s second letter, he spends a whole chapter on the subject of the dangers of false teachers in the church. And he is mostly referring to false teachers who may claim to know Jesus but they in fact had false conversions. It is true that there are men and women in the church who … Continue reading False Teachers Are Sometimes False Converts
“They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin.” The language Peter uses to describe false teachers is not metaphorical. It is stark, straightforward, and scary. Sexual sin was then and is now a prominent characteristic of false teachers. Along with their boldness and arrogance to believe that they can say and do anything they … Continue reading Hearts trained in Greed
I love the story Luke tells of the two men, Cleopas and another unnamed disciple of Jesus, walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, discussing the events that they have just witnessed. And while they talk and reason with one another about these things, Jesus walks up beside them and asks them a question. Why didn’t they … Continue reading He Opened Their Eyes
J. Mark Fox 