II Peter 3:1  This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
2  That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
3  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6  Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

The past several months have been quite interesting. In September there was the eruption of a volcano in LaPalma, Spain that continues to spew lava. They say this is the longest running volcano in the history of that island. Then a few weeks ago there were mud slides and flooding in B.C. that have not happened to that extent for a number of years. The death toll was not that high, but there was extensive damage to property. Then this past weekend there were several powerful tornadoes that tore across several states in the U.S. The death toll has not been finalized yet. Again there has been massive damage from these storms.
The media and politicians have been quick to jump on the climate change bandwagon with these events. Mr. Trudeau set the stage for this narrative shortly after the Wuhan virus was announced. He said this virus was a great opportunity to implement the “Great Reset”. The virus was just a tool in the toolbox of the elite. It has been used very successfully to scare the majority of people into submission. I believe that the grandparents of those of us who are older would be in shock to see how most of this generation have bowed to ungodly and wicked politicians. Our grandparents fled tyranny. Some of them left with just what they could carry out. They left everything else behind. They came to this country and worked hard to establish themselves. Some of them had some interest in spiritual matters. The land of opportunity is fast becoming a distant shadow now. The sad reality is that most of those alive today are leaving the important things behind, but they have no better land to go to. They seem to believe the tyranny is good. Those surrendering are lost and while some think they will go to heaven, they will be in for quite the shock when they discover they were wrong. They are what God calls “willingly ignorant”.
The changes we are witnessing in the weather in recent times have nothing to do with the use of fossil fuels. Studies are showing that it is far more expensive to build an electric vehicle than it is to build a combustion engine vehicle. It still requires fossil fuels to make that electric vehicle.
As we look at the verses at the top of this devotional, we see that there were naysayers in Peter’s day. They saw the same things that Peter saw, but they came to a completely different conclusion. They scoffed at the Biblical truths and assumed that there was no real danger ahead.
Today, we are being told that our world is being changed drastically and it is all our fault. The lost assume that we can fix things if we get away from fossil fuels. As God directed Peter in our text, they are willingly ignorant.
This past Sunday, in our Sunday School class, we looked at I Samuel 12 as our continuing study of Old Testament History and Geography. I did not choose this passage because of what is happening now. It is just where we are at in our study. In that chapter, God showed the nation of Israel that they had sinned in demanding a king and rejecting Him as their king. It was time to harvest the wheat in that chapter. God sent a thunder storm to show the people they had sinned against Him. God normally provided good drying weather at harvest time so that the people could take off a good crop. However, He sent them a thunder storm at this crucial time of the year to show them He was still in charge. He knew they needed to get the crop off in good shape. He also knew they needed to turn to Him to know His peace and blessing.
There is a lesson we need to learn from this today as well. We are not Israel. However, the same God that was in charge of the weather at that time, is still in charge of the weather today. The climates are always changing. We have grown accustomed to certain weather conditions at certain times of the year. It is true that the tornadoes that hit south of us were unusual for this time of year. It is God that brought them about. The same God that used a worldwide flood in the days of Noah is using adverse weather events to try to get our attention at this time.
We are moving closer and closer to the next major event on God’s timetable. That event is preceded by the removal of all true saints from this world. We call that event the “Rapture”. That will happen in a moment in time. Most people will not concern themselves with that event. They will be left behind. They will enter the next phase in world history which is called the Tribulation. That is a seven year period where the anti-christ will rule and where godlessness will rule. Those who will get saved during that time, will face severe challenges and many of them will be killed by the anti-christ and his cohorts. The lost will not be concerned about the cruelty of this man and his regime.
Today we are witnessing the mindset of those who take the shot and want those who refuse the shot to be quarantined or removed from the general public in some other way.
The Tribulation time will be far worse than anything we are experiencing right now with the ungodly governments we have. It will be far worse than what our grandparents went through in Europe. It will be much worse for Israel than anything they have suffered so far.
God is using adverse events at this time to get man’s attention. Rather than worshipping “mother nature” people need to turn to the true God. We are not on this earth to stay. This world is not going to last for ever. It will not be destroyed by man. It will be destroyed by God. Those who are saved are promised a home in heaven. Those who are lost are warned of an eternity in the lake of fire. God does not want anyone to end up in the lake of fire.
The Bible tells us that many are on the broad way that leads to that dreadful place. God wants people to wake up and get off of that broad way. He requires those who are truly saved to preach His Word faithfully. He is giving us valid object lessons that we can use to assist in the preaching of His Word and urging the lost to get saved.
In our study of II Timothy we have seen that Paul was directed by God to encourage Timothy to get on with the work that he had been called to do. Souls were being lost every day. Timothy knew the truth. He needed to do the work of an evangelist.
Peter reminds us that there are many scoffers today. They need to be challenged in their scoffing. They need to see what is really happening. Rather than lazily buying into the lie of man-made climate change, they need to remember that God is still in charge. The true God is still a loving God Who wants all to be saved. He knows when the end of this age will come. We do not. He wants all to avoid that Tribulation time. Those who are saved have eternal life. Those who are lost can have eternal life if they will repent toward God and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. That is the great need of so many today.
It is quite shocking to see the destruction left behind by the storms in the States. It is also shocking to see the damage caused by the floods in B.C. Even more important, it is also sad to read of the lives lost, knowing that many of them died without knowing Jesus Christ as Saviour. We cannot protect ourselves from all the storms that come. We can prepare ourselves for death. We can have the hope of eternal life now and be ready whatever comes, to meet the Lord.
That is the great need today, as it was in Paul’s day and in Peter’s day. For those of us that are saved, let us use the object lessons that God gives us to help people to stop and listen to God’s Word. Let us pray and trust that many will be saved in these last days. For those who are not saved, these events that have taken place are real. There are tragedies that have taken place as a result of these events. This is a time to humble yourself and trust in the true God. He is far more concerned about souls than He is about land and buildings. Souls are eternal. Land and buildings are temporary. One day He will create a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. That is what true saints have to look forward to. God wants all to be there. Will you be there?
Pastor Bartel