Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard…
…the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. (2 Peter 3:7)
Summary: Peter warns us that the earth will end in fire as God cleans up this creation and prepares for the new one.
Reading Peter’s fifth warning seems both real and unreal. God has already cleansed the world once with water and he promised never to do that again. The next cleansing is the final one, and this time God will use fire.
The question that comes to mind is this: If everything is going to be destroyed by fire, what does that mean for all the stuff I have?
Today’s meditation has stirred memories of a book I read as a child many years ago. The book was called, “The Twenty-One Balloons.” It is the story of an adventurer, Professor William Waterman Sherman, who sets out in a balloon to explore the world.
His balloon is gigantic and the gondola underneath is as big as a house. He plans to travel wherever the wind takes him and to stay afloat for an entire year. As it turns out, fate has a different plan. The winds carry his giant balloon far out over the ocean.
In the story about Prof. Sherman, his plans are upset by a pesky seagull. The bird lands on his balloon and pecks a hole in the skin, causing it to leak. The giant balloon slowly descends, dropping out of the sky towards the dark waters below. Will this be the end of Prof. Sherman?
The professor had a choice to make. There was an island in the distance that he might get to if he can keep the balloon up in the air long enough. To lighten the balloon, he throws things overboard. (This is the part of the story I remember most!)
He had packed everything that you or I might want to take with us if we were going to live in a different country. All of his clothes, furniture, and treasured possessions were in the “house” under the balloon. All of this was getting closer to the water every minute.
The story shows us the professor agonizing over everything he has to throw overboard. His scientific instruments, his books, everything he values. Eventually, he climbs into the rigging over the house and cuts the entire structure loose to gain a few more minutes of flight time. All of this buys him enough time and our adventurer survives the wreckage, much like Paul and Luke when they shipwrecked on Malta (Acts 27: 27-44).
As the end drew near, Prof. Sherman had to make choices about what was important. Each choice was a decision between keeping something that he treasured or keeping his life. As the end of the world draws near, we have to make a similar choice.
What do we value? What is more important than saving our souls? Should we hesitate and hang on to our worldly possessions a while longer, or should we cut them loose and affirm our commitment to saving our soul?
Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Peter echoes this truth when he warns us about the end of the material world. I am not suggesting that we give away everything and live in poverty. People have responsibilities to take care of family and neighbors. The real question that I see here is the question of where our heart is.
Application: Take an inventory of where your treasure is. Is it where you want it to be?
Food for Thought: How do we guard against the “day of judgment”?
Good devotion. I love the illustration of Professor Sherman.
The 2 Peter passage says that the by the word of God “the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”
So in that context the best way to guard against the day of judgment of ungodly men is not to be in that judgment. This is described in Revelation 20: 11 – 15. That judgment will not go well. We escape it through faith in Christ and trusting in His work on the cross. John 5: 24.
Thank you, Rich!
So you would recommend wearing the ‘breastplate of righteousness’ that Paul writes about in Eph 6:14?
01-22-2022, 2 Peter 3:17a Pt V, How do we guard against the “day of judgment”?
God’s word is so far greater than our ability to fully understand. Looking at the same jewel as Rich, seeing another facet.
My son came to know the Lord while a young boy, grew into manhood as a body builder in excellent health. At 44 he was found on his couch with a partially eaten sandwich and can of beer on the table near his body, the cause of death could not be determined. His time to prepare for the day of the Lord had ended, everything he had put off for tomorrow would go undone and he would stand before God as the contents of his heart on that day would be judged.
God has spoken through men and tells us, now is the time to wake up, now is the time to consider all things of this world as rubbish, now is the time, the day for salvation, for our time on earth is brief.
Romans 13:11, Philippians 3:8-10, 2 Corinthians 6:2, Psalm 39:4
Jesus commands we, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all the creation.” And Paul echoed this call for believers to proclaim so they could hear and believe because they had heard.
Mark 16:15, Romans 10:14
Watching the world around us and thinking, sure looks like the last days are getting closer, when in reality they are here, is not the way we are to live. Instead, allow Christ to live in us as we live each day knowing we are living our last days. Devote ourselves to doing Gods work today, no matter what that might be!
Psalm 90:12, James 4:14, Romans 12:2,1 Corinthians 15:58
Ron,
Thank you for sharing a very personal story, and for your insight on living for Christ today … right now.