Quarantine Epistles 173

The Coming of Mockers (2 Peter 3:3-6) 

Dear Saints, 

In the previous passage, believers are encouraged to pay attention to the words of the prophets and of the apostles. This is because of the challenge that they are about to face. 

 The Coming of Skeptics (v. 3). The interesting thing about the scoffers is their motivation – lusts. We tend to always assume that false teaching results in bad behavior, in which people yield to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes. But it seems here that lust is what drives unbelief. In a sense, false teaching becomes a justification for sinful behavior.

The Challenge of Skepticism (v. 4). The mockers will question the reliability of what has been taught in the scriptures. For centuries we have been taught that Jesus is coming back, for centuries we have waited and nothing has happened. In a manner of speaking, they are saying we have been lied to. No Jesus is coming back.

The Cause of Skepticism (vv. 5-6). The scoffers deliberately forget – meaning that they do know the truth. The evidence is in the outworking of the word of God in the world of Noah’s time. God declared that he would destroy the world with water and he did. The mockers then were the majority. It is estimated that the population of the earth at that time was several million. Only eight people listened to God’s word and were saved. With God, it is not a game of numbers. We cannot challenge his truth on the basis of the fact that the majority of the population is against that word.
The word of God stands true. The end is coming. 

Your Loving Pastor Chris.