Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard…
Summary: Peter is about to depart this world and he tells this news to his brothers and sisters in Christ. How would they have felt? How would they respond? These are the questions we wrestle with today.
The second warning in Peter’s letter is a bit outdated. Even though it is past its pull date, there is still something here for us to consider. In verse fourteen of the first chapter, Peter writes, “I know that I will soon put [my physical life] aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.”
Imagine for a moment that you are on a journey through the Himalayan mountain range. Your guide for this trip is a world-renown Sherpa guide whose name is Yeshe. Your journey is a long one. You have been traveling for many weeks and you are deep in the mountain range. If it were not for Yeshe, you would be totally lost.
Late in the evening, when you are settled into camp for the night, Yeshe comes to your tent. “I have news,” he says.
“Yes,” you reply, “what is it?”
Yeshe’s dark eyes glitter in the light of your lantern. His weathered face seems to be as ancient as the mountains.
“My time has come,” he says.
“What does that mean?” you ask.
“It means,” he says, “that I am dying.”
Your mind races a million directions at once. How can he be dying? He looks fine! Besides, he can’t leave me out here without a guide. He has to be okay. What will I do? How will I survive?
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These are some questions that must have come to the minds of Peter’s flock. Who else did they have to guide them? Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles (Gal 2:8-10, Rom 11: 13-14) so his focus was elsewhere. Peter likely was one of the last of the twelve disciples to die in the flesh.
For many people, letters like the one we have been meditating on were the only material link left between those who knew the Lord personally and the people who left after they passed on. Like our friend with the dying Sherpa guide, they were in the middle of unknown territory. New questions came up all the time. People disagreed on what to do. How were they to resolve these issues? Who would guide them?
Now the urgency in Peter’s letter is making sense. It would not be fair to say he was worried about the future of the Lord’s church because he knows the Lord is alive and his Holy Spirit is active. Yet, he knows people. He knows that there will be false teachers and those who follow them. Some will turn away from the truth after knowing the Lord, and others will scoff at the Word, doing their best to cast the Scriptures and God’s truth into a bad light.
Knowing all of this, Peter writes his letter. Like Hansel and Gretel leaving breadcrumbs to mark the trail home, Peter leaves a trail of written words. Like the birds that ate the crumbs, Satan has been trying to pick away at their meaning. It is a testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit that Peter’s words remain and that we have them unchanged. Satan still works to strip them of their power, but as we have seen walking through the text slowly and deliberately, there is a lot to be learned here.
Since the days of the first apostles, many generations of people have lived and died. Each person who walks the earth has a decision to make. Are they going to honor God or dishonor him? Even if they do not know God by name, the question still stands. What will you do?
Application: Treasure the words of Peter as if you were looking at the map given to you by your Sherpa guide just before he breathed his last.
Food for Thought: How would having seen Moses and Elijah at the transfiguration of Jesus affected Peter’s thinking about life and death?
I believe seeing Moses and Elijah at the transfiguration would have tied together for Peter that there are people who are physically dead, yet alive with God. I believe it would set a place in his mind that (where) God and His creation existed. Its a bit like hearing of a country called Zimbabwe, and then meeting someone from Zimbabwe. Everything you heard about Zimbabwe only produces an image in your imagination. Once meeting someone from there, you gain insight into their life (or existence). Your perspective changes.
Chris,
I like your Zimbabwe illustration! Meeting a visitor from heaven would have the same effect. It opens our eyes to the reality of what we have been told about.
Good devotion and good comment Chris. I agree that seeing Elijah and Moses would have solidified the truth of another, better, and eternal existence. It would certainly be an encouragement that brings great hope.
01-19-2022, 2 Peter 3:17, Part II, How would having seen Moses and Elijah at the transfiguration of Jesus affected Peter’s thinking about life and death?
He would have seen the proof or validation of Jesus’ words when He taught, “ Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.”
For 3 years Jesus walked the earth and ministered to us, He did not abolish the OT, but was a living example of the Law of God being applied. His life translates the Old Testament into actions and teachings which give us the true meaning and understanding of the Law of God.
Matthew 5:17-18
Peter did not see the reality of eternal life through Jesus Christ until later. In fact we know He denied Christ three times the night of His arrest and trial by the Jewish leaders, and only three women and one unnamed disciple ( believed to be John ) are mentioned in the Bible as being at His crucification.
John 18:15-27, John 19:26–27
Peters understanding and boldness came by the power of the Holy Spirit when all he had experienced with Christ was revealed as eternal truths of God, and became his foundation for life.
He became a different man, boldly preaching, healing the lame. The authorities marveled at his boldness and prayed for more when he was threatened. When Herod had killed James and planned to kill Peter. He went to sleep the night before, son soundly, the angel sent to rescue him had to shake him awake.
Acts 2:14-36, Acts 3, 4:13, 4:29, 12:6-7
All Peter had experienced had been clarified by the Holy Spirit and he lived as Paul describes, “ I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” As Peter wrote these words, he knew believers are eternal beings on temporary duty for God in this world and looked forward to the day he could lay aside this earthly tent and spend eternity in the presence of God.
Galatians 2:20.
Ron,
As always you offer deep insights into the Word! You correctly point out that the transfiguration was a door to the past as well as the future. (I had not thought about that.) Through this moment when the heavens open to reveal Moses and Elijah, we see the connection between heaven and earth displayed before us.
I appreciate you pointing out that the Holy Spirit, God himself, enters into the events of Peter’s life and our life. This is the power that transforms not only Peter but each of us who believe in the Lord.
God’s Word is like a huge box filled with multi-faceted jewels, and we are each drawn to the facet the Holy Spirit knows we need at the moment. Kind of like the “No Wrong Answer” policy at BSF. I really appreciate the input from all those who take the time to post their comments on your Blog.
Thank You Brother for your always very thought provoking questions!
Ron
You are welcome, Ron. I, too, am blessed over and over by the comments here and the insights offered.