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Today we start with the first fact as to WHO JESUS IS:

1/ He is our only source of salvation and eternal life…

— John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

— This is one of those statements that you either deny Jesus said it; or claim that He was wrong and a liar when He said it; OR accept it as truth and move on to seek salvation in Jesus’ name.

— On these pages, we accept this as absolutely TRUE… So we need to ask, What do we do to access the Father God through Jesus as the way?

Let’s look at it from a bit of a unique perspective… Jesus is OUR ARK (of salvation).

SEE how in Luke 17:26-30 Jesus makes this same comparison: (26) Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. (27) They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. (28) Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, (29) but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— (30) so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

— Jesus Himself is telling us how His return will come about.

— If we investigate the time of Noah can we see a co-relationship between those times and the times we live in.

— Also we must remember that God commands us to be ready for the moment when against all the earth’s expectations, the ‘ark’ is closed up (The time when God’s church is raptured from off this earth), and the storm that will put a final end to all that remains on this earth cometh. Some will still be saved after the ‘Rapture’, however, it seems a martyr’s death is the lot for them.)

SEE 2^nd Peter 3:1-13 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, (2) that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, (3) knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. (4) They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” (5) For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, (6) and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. (7) But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. (8) But do not overlook this one fact, 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 to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (10) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. (11) Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, (12) waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! (13) But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

— Do you see the correlation between Noah’s ark (Which God designed for the salvation of believers) and the provision of Jesus Christ as our way of salvation?

— Also this illustration is found in  1^st Peter 3:18-22 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, (19) in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, (20) because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. (21) Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, (22) who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Now let’s take a deeper dive into these verses from 2^nd Peter 3:1-13…

Verses 1-2… (1) This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, (2) that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles…

— What is Peter trying to do with these letters?

A/ ____________________________(Stirring them up to encourage them to keep the faith)__
B/ ____________________________(Reminding them of the Holy prophecies concerning Jesus as the Messiah)__

Verses 3-4… (3) knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. (4) They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”

— What is Peter predicting in these verses, and has it come to pass?  (Deniers of a second coming will arise.)

Verses 5-9… (5) For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, (6) and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. (7) But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. (8) But do not overlook this one fact, 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 to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

A/ We are told how people, “deliberately overlook this fact”… What fact(s) is Peter writing of in Vs.5-7?
(He is saying that in the ‘last days’ people will deny that there is a Creator God.)

B/ If we choose to not accept and instead choose to overlook this fact, what do we deny?
(Those who choose to deny a Creator who made them, resist any authority He has over them.)
— Is this happening today?

C/ Peter then commands us to “do not overlook this one fact”… (Vs.8)
— What fact are we to remember? (That God is not delayed, He is generously waiting for all who will be saved to be rescued.)

D/ The main point of Vs 5-9 is found in Vs.9… What is it? (It is never God’s plan for anyone to perish, however if we choose such, He will not overrule us.)

Verses 10-13… (10) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. (11) Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, (12) waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! (13) But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

A/ Vs.10… What do we know about predicting the date of the end of the world? (Noone knows the date except God the father. So all such predictions are false.)

B/ Vs. 11-12… How do you respond to Peter’s question here? (We should be striving to live exemplary lives that glorify our Savior Jesus Christ, and in doing so we will draw some to seek after His salvation as well.)

C/ Vs.13… Do you consider this the destruction of all things, OR the reconstruction of all things?
(Are you a ‘glass half empty, or a glass half full type? – I did make a point of how we can see that this world and all God’s creation ‘moans’ for the sin curse to be lifted. This will happen in God’s New Earth, which will be similar to a return to the Garden of Eden.)

We will close with further discussion, and as always fittingly, we spend time praying for the needs that others have in their lives… If you have a need that you wish us to pray that God would provide for you, I invite you to drop me an e-mail on the contact forms we provide… Please believe me they will be kept totally private and secure in our little care group prayer time.