House of Hope Online

August 3, 2025

Here is a link to the audio version:

Or, if you prefer Spotify:

Last time we discussed the great oil shortage of 1973 that affected the supply and prices of gasoline and other energy worldwide.  We said Jesus warns us in Matthew 25 of the potential for another oil crisis, but this one referring to the oil shortage experienced by the five foolish virgins in Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins.  Oil in the Bible is symbolic of the Holy Spirit, and the point last week is we must ready ourselves for the Rapture and the Second Coming of our Lord by staying in relationship with the Holy Spirit, that He might light our lamps to show us the way to Jesus in the End Times.  If we enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise and worship, the Holy Spirit will impart to us His gifts and fruit, and quicken our spirits to hear the shout, the trumpet, and the voice of the archangel at the Rapture.

Today, we focus on another coming event; that is, the great fire that will destroy the present earth on the final day of judgment, as God creates the prophesied new Heaven and new Earth.  The Apostle Peter, in closing His second Epistle, reminds us of End Times prophecy, and how we should conduct ourselves as we see these days come upon us.  He starts with a warning about promise mockers.

Promise Mockers

2^nd Peter 3:

 1 ¶ This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,

 2 that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior [spoken] by your apostles.

 3 ¶ Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with [their] mocking, following after their own lusts,

 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For [ever] since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

 5 For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God [the] heavens existed long ago and [the] earth was formed out of water and by water,

 6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.

 7 But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. (NASB)

I think we can all agree that we live in a day of mockers, unbelievers who follow their own lusts and spurn the written and spoken prophecies of what is coming to the earth.  Those who cling to this life and refuse to acknowledge the imminence of the Rapture run the risk of experiencing the fate of Lot’s wife, who disobediently looked back at her former life and therefore suffered the same destruction of the sinful cities Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19).

The mocking spirit comes from Satan, who has a long history of denying the word of God.  Peter explains in verses 5 and 6 that it escapes the notice of the mockers that the word of God formed the earth out of water, and, at the time of Noah, the world was destroyed by the water of the flood.  In verse 7, Peter declares that, according to the same word of God, “…the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”

Peter is reminding us that the same word that spoke the earth into existence has also reserved the present heavens and earth for fire.  At the day of judgment and destruction of unbelievers, that fire will destroy the earth, just as God is creating the new Heaven and new Earth to house the new Jerusalem, the eternal city that will be our new digs as we spend eternity with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Revelation 21:

 1 ¶ And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer [any] sea.

 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.

 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them,

 4 and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be [any] death; there shall no longer be [any] mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

 5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

All things will be made new, no more tears, no more death, mourning, crying, or pain.  I’m down for that.  But it is a promise that many will mock because it has not happened yet, and evil continues to increase.  Peter explains the tarry of the Lord in bringing his word to pass.

The Lord is Patient, Not Slow

2^nd Peter 3:

 8 ¶ But do not let this one [fact] escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

 9 ¶ The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

Verse 9 repeats the nature of God – He wants no one to perish and all to come to repentance.  But verse 10 tells us the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and all elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth will be burned up.

Peter closes the Epistle with an important question.

What Sort of People Ought You to Be?

Peter goes on to ask, now that you have been reminded of this tremendous prophecy, what sort of person ought you to be?  That should be our most important takeaway from this discussion of the Second Coming.

2^nd Peter 3:

 11 ¶ Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!

 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

 14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,

 15 and regard the patience of our Lord [to be] salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,

 16 as also in all [his] letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as [they do] also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard lest, being carried away by the error of unprincipled men, you fall from your own steadfastness,

 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him [be] the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (NASB)

What a beautiful passage of scripture, written by the one disciple whose faith weakened, yet Jesus nevertheless entrusted to feed His sheep the word of God.  Let me try to summarize it for you.  Peter is urging us to:

1. Look for and hasten the coming of the day of God (verse 12).  The word “hasten” means to eagerly await.
2. Look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.  In our new earth, only righteousness will dwell.  There will be no need for locks on our doors, no need for guns of self-defense, no home security services, no internet security software, no homeowner’s or car insurance, no police, no national defense.  Just righteousness!  Praise Jesus, King of kings, Jesus Majesty!
3. Be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless.  Last week, we noted the need for the oil of the Holy Spirit’s anointing to recognize the Rapture.  That is what Peter is prescribing here.  To be found in peace, spotless, and blameless, we must receive Jesus in our hearts and develop our relationship with Him through the Holy Spirit.  If we are sensitive to the Spirit of God, we will not delay when the Bridegroom comes for us, and He will not shut the door on us and tell us He does not know us (Matthew 25:11-13).
4. Regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation.  As we eagerly await His coming, understand that His tarry is due to salvation, as the Father wants no one to perish.  Every new day is a chance to share the Gospel with someone.
5. Understand that some will distort the Scriptures to their own destruction.  Admittedly, some prophecy can be hard to understand, and the untaught and unstable will distort the Scriptures, to their own destruction.  Peter is calling us to be mature Christians as we see these things unfold.
6. Be on your guard for the error of unprincipled men.  We are warned in verse 17 that we can be carried away by the error of unprincipled men, causing us to lose our steadfastness.  This is a tremendous risk for us today, as the mainstream tries to distort the truth in carrying out their own schemes for power.  2^nd Timothy 4:3-4 warns “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but [wanting] to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.”  We are to remain steadfast in God’s word, even when it is not popular.
7. Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus.  The word “grace” means in the original Greek: “a divine influence upon our heart, and its reflection in our life; gratitude, benefit, favor, gifting, and joy.  Paul said in 1^st Corinthians 2:2 “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”  Let that be our attitude as we await eagerly – let us grow in grace and seek to know Jesus more, by spending time in His word and soaking in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray.

Father God, thank You for the promises of scripture, and for the great prophecies that ring true today.  We rebuke, in the name of Jesus, those who mock and say: “Where is the promise of His coming?”  Thank You for Peter’s reminder that the present heavens and earth are reserved for destruction by fire, that we would not cling to this life, as Lot’s wife did.  Thank You for the promise of the new heaven and new earth, and the holy city, the new Jerusalem, where only righteousness will dwell.  Thank You for the promise of no tears, death, mourning, crying, nor pain.  All things new in the name of Jesus!

We wait eagerly even as You tarry in love.  Draw us by the Holy Spirit to be found in peace, holy and blameless.  Quicken us to discern the error of unprincipled men, who do not endure sound doctrine, and so turn away from the truth.  And help us to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, in whose name we pray.  Amen.