Peter's Words on the Last Days

The Apostle Peter gave us a few verses intended to help believers recognize that Jesus would soon return and to prepare them for the type of opposition and/or persecution they could expect to encounter in light of that fact.

2Peter 3:3-6 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished….

Peter tells us that there will be those in the last days, the time before Jesus returns to earth, that will mock and ridicule those who are looking forward to His soon coming. Instead of heeding the call to repent of their sins and trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, these people will live to satisfy their lusts, the desires of their flesh.

Personally, I think that is a description of the defining characteristic of this day and age. Much of the developed world’s culture is saturated with “entertainment” of every type that is specifically intended to appeal to the desires of the flesh—be it print, music, television, movies, theater, video games, and even sports. Sometimes it is directed toward arousing sexual desire, sometimes toward bloodlust, and sometimes toward greed. Fashions are designed to reveal and tempt. Modesty and propriety are things of the past.

There are no moral restrictions on the methods employed in advertising; anything is justified that results in achieving the bottom line--accumulation of the almighty dollar. Marketing and advertising take every opportunity to appeal to the desires of the flesh since that is the most effective method of promoting sales.

When confronted with the truth of the soon coming of Jesus, many are quick to point out that life continues on as it always has. They reject the truth of God’s word. They discount the truth that God judged the ancient world through destruction by a worldwide flood. Peter is very clear in stating that they will choose to be ignorant of that truth. Why? Because to believe it would acknowledge that the God of the Bible is real. And—if God is real, that would require accountability to His word. And—accountability to God would interfere with their way of life and freedom to indulge in their fleshly lusts.

Peter also reminds believers that God’s reckoning of time is quite different than man’s reckoning of time. What we interpret to be a very long time is actually a very short period from God’s eternal perspective.

2Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Yes, there have been many ancient cultures that have exhibited these same characteristics to varying degrees. The significant difference is that Peter is speaking of the time preceding the return of Christ Jesus. This would define the time being referenced to the “common era” after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The application is to the general population of the world. Never before in the history of mankind have all cultures been under the influence of debased and immoral media and marketing empires determined to profit from catering to the lust of the flesh and that have worldwide impact. From my perspective over just my lifetime, only a fool would deny that American society has become more and more immoral. That is a direct result of the choice to remove God from our schools and ignore His truth and authority in our courts and government. It even seems that more and more He is being removed from our churches. The focus in Christendom is turning more to good works and “feel good” or mystical experiences.

It seems as though the emphasis is once again turning to recognition of the Father while either ignoring or denying the Son. Wasn’t that the sin of the Pharisees that Jesus so strongly denounced!