Scoff Science (2 Peter 3:1-7)

April 12, 2026

Perhaps some of you remember Harry Truman. Not Harry S. Truman the president, Harry R. Truman the bootlegger turned prospector who, for 52 years, ran a lodge at the base of Mount St. Helens.

Harry has been labeled a folk hero by many in the media.^[1] More than 100 songs have been written in his honor.^[2] He appeared on the front page of the New York Times and the San Francisco Examiner. He was featured by National Geographic, The Today Show, Time Magazine, Life Magazine, and Newsweek.^[3]

Was it because he sounded the alarm that an eruption was coming? Was it because he worked bravely to save those who needed to evacuate? No, Harry is remembered for refusing to leave despite many, repeated warnings.

For two months, the mountain showed all the signs that it was no longer dormant. There was all sorts of seismic activity day after day. There was steam and ash in the air.^[4]

Authorities, friends, well-wishers, and strangers pleaded with Harry to evacuate. But he wouldn’t budge. He had been at the mountain for more than half a century and was convinced nothing would change. He said, “That mountain just doesn’t dare blow up on me.”^[5]

As the ground beneath his feet continued to shake in the days leading up to the historic eruption, Harry admitted he was afraid and had taken to sleeping in the basement of his lodge. The day before Mt. St. Helens blew, five people visited Harry, trying to get him to leave. But he wouldn’t go. Instead, journalists reported that he scoffed at the concern for his life. After all, as Harry said, “The mountain is a mile away, the mountain ain’t gonna hurt me.”^[6]

And then 8:32am came on Sunday, May 18, 1980, and Harry R. Truman was the first to die in the extreme heat of the volcano’s pyroclastic flow. Somehow this man is celebrated as a hero for scoffing at people who were simply trying to save his life.

In our text this morning, Peter talks about those who scoff at the idea of fiery judgment coming to the world and how they scoff at God’s revealed word altogether.

Instead of being apathetic to what God has said, it should animate us to live out our Christianity, paying attention and living with intention based off God’s reliable revelation.

2 Peter 3:1 – ¹Dear friends, this is now the second letter I have written to you; in both letters, I want to stir up your sincere understanding by way of reminder,

In chapter 1, Peter focused on how good and essential it is to be a growing Christian. How we can rely on God’s word, and how as we live it out, our lives will be full of strength, peace, and purpose.

In chapter 2, Peter warned us about the false teachers who try to break into the Church and into your life to deny the word of God, exploit you, and ensnare you. They offer freedom, but all they really do is ruin lives.

Now in chapter 3, Peter will focus on the second coming of Christ. How these scoffers deny that Jesus is ever coming back or that there will ever be a judgment for sin. But that for Christians, the second coming is not only a reality, it is one of the most important aspects of our faith.

As he wraps up his final message before death, Peter says, “I’m writing to stir you up.” The term means to awake from sleep.^[7] To stimulate.^[8] He’s not scolding us for being asleep. This is a positive reminder. Our “understanding,” which means our minds and our disposition, should be animated. God’s truth should be energizing us as we live out our lives.

Christianity is not just some things we learned in Sunday school, but the vitalizing engine of life. We have received the truth that actually sets people free and through it the peace of God and the hope of God and the joy of God and the love of God.

Where Peter says “dear friends” the term is beloved. He uses it 4 times in this chapter to describe you – the object of God’s love. And so, as he draws to a close, Peter says, “I’m writing to you who are loved by God so you can have a living faith, animated by hope, overflowing with grace.”

2 Peter 3:2 – ² so that you recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles.

What anchors our lives? What gives us stability and direction? How do we receive all that we need for life and Godliness? Recall the word. Walk in the word. Apply God’s word to your life.

Peter assigns the whole text – cover to cover. Both Testaments, all 66 books. Prophecy begins in the opening chapters of Genesis. It continues all the way through the last chapter of the Bible.

Notice Peter’s perspective on the Bible. First, both Testaments are still needful. Just because we’re in the Church age, the New Testament era, doesn’t mean we don’t need the Old Testament anymore. Second, the apostles have the same authority as the Old Testament prophets.

On the devotional level, this is an important reminder, too. Your spiritual life must not be anchored on feelings or experience, but on revelation. Feelings matter – look at chapter 1. God wants you to have peace in increasing measure. He wants you to enjoy your relationship with Him. But we cannot hand the helm of our lives over to our feelings. That’s what the false teachers of chapter 2 did, and the result was absolute ruin. We anchor our spirituality on God’s revealed word. All God’s word.

2 Peter 3:3 – ³ Above all, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days scoffing and following their own evil desires,

Some jobs require more situational awareness than others. Sometimes being aware makes the difference between life and death.

Peter has used this phrase “above all” before. He means that what he’s about to say is of overwhelming importance,^[9] so we need to be aware.

What does he want us to be aware of? Scoffers. What are scoffers? Well, they scoff. Proverbs talks a great deal about scoffers. But how do we recognize them? They’re the people in chapter 2. And they are those who constantly follow their own desires rather than God’s commands. They are those who reject God’s word and the idea that He is coming back again. So, we can recognize them by their theology, their morality, and the way they treat the Bible, Christ, and Christians.

Notice that Peter believes anyone reading is living in the “last days.” That is a technical term in the Bible. It refers to the time just before Christ’s return. How could Peter be in the last days if it’s been 2,000 years since he wrote this letter? Well, he’s going to explain that with God a day is like a thousand years, but the “last days” started at Pentecost, the birthday of the Church.^[10]

Now, here’s some irony: The Bible predicted what these mockers would say and how they would behave. How they would laugh at the idea of Christ’s return because, after all, where is He? But they themselves are proof that His second coming is imminent!^[11]

2 Peter 3:4 – ⁴ saying, “Where is his ‘coming’ that he promised? Ever since our ancestors fell asleep, all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation.”

Essentially, the argument of the scoffers is that even if God exists, He does not intervene in the world.^[12] This was the position of Epicureans, Deists, and among many agnostics today. Everything seems the same, so that must mean God is not involved and never will be.

2 Peter 3:5 – ⁵ They deliberately overlook this: By the word of God the heavens came into being long ago and the earth was brought about from water and through water.

Remember: The specific people Peter was warning the original audience about still claimed to be believers. And yet, they rejected the Bible and the teaching of the apostles.^[13]

It is a willful ignorance. They close their eyes to the revelation of God and the testimony of God through history. He has been constantly involved, from the beginning. And from the start He uses His word to accomplish and communicate His work.

By the word of God the heavens came into being. He could’ve done simply by His power or through His thought or in any way He wanted. But God uses His word. He wants to communicate.

In antiquity, many philosophers and scientists taught that the universe was eternal. Of course, we have discovered that is not true. It had to have a beginning. Not only that, we have found that is has a clear design. We’ve also discovered that order cannot come from chaos.

Fast forward to today and we don’t really have Epicurean and Deist philosophy dominating philosophical discussion. But what is the dominant dogma among unbelieving scientists? “Well, the universe isn’t eternal, but let’s use numbers that keep getting bigger…millions of years, billions of years, so that effectively we think of it as eternal. And even though we know order can’t come from chaos and something can’t come from nothing, we’ll say that’s true, except that one time it wasn’t when everything came into being and we’ll call it The Big Bang.” It is a deliberate refusal to accept that design must have a Designer and that Designer has spoken through His word.

Rick Oliver, who has a PhD in biology and is a member of a variety of scientific groups wrote about how this happens. He said,

“I remember how frustrated I became when, as a young atheist, I examined specimens under the microscope. I would often walk away and try to convince myself that I was not seeing examples of extraordinary design, but merely the product of some random, unexplained mutations.”^[14]

But a Creator does exist. And that Creator has spoken. We know His word is reliable. These truths beg the questions: Why did He create this universe and what does He plan to do with it?

2 Peter 3:6 – ⁶ Through these the world of that time perished when it was flooded.

So, first of all, Peter holds to a literal, historical, global flood. Genesis 1 through 11 is just as literal as Genesis 12 through 50.

But the point Peter is trying to make is that God does not only act to create. He has also intervened in human history to judge and to deliver. And, as He did so, He talks about it! He prophesies about it. He sends messages and commands and truth so humanity can know about it.

Because God is just, He must judge sin. But because God is love, He does all He can to make a way for people to be saved from judgment. But when we ignore Him, when we plug our ears and reject His offer, the result is death and judgment. It happened in Genesis, it is going to happen again.

2 Peter 3:7 – ⁷ By the same word, the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

By the same word! This is pretty basic spiritual math. Look at how God has intervened before, how He warned about it, and then what happened. And now consider that God has said – throughout both Testaments – that a global judgment of fire is coming at the end of human history. It is coming. It cannot be avoided. It can be escaped on the personal level – that’s what salvation is about – but judgement is coming to the world. The Day of the Lord is near – near and rapidly approaching.^[15]

As we’ve seen in this letter, there are two groups: The Godly and the ungodly. The Godly are those who believe God’s word and receive His salvation. The ungodly are those who will not believe and receive judgment. Christ is going to return, bodily, literally, to accomplish two purposes: To deliver the Godly and to destroy the ungodly. And because He loves the people of earth, He has sent warning after warning, proof after proof, reminder after reminder, because He’s not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance. But He will not force you. He allows you to choose whether you want His deliverance or His destruction. And when He comes, Matthew 3 tells us the fire of His coming will burn the chaff from the wheat. The wheat is gathered into the barn of heaven, the chaff burns in the fire forever.^[16]

Before his death, Harry Truman received many letters from children, pleading with him to listen to reason and evacuate from the inevitable eruption of Mount St. Helens. He said some of the letters moved him to tears, but rather than humble himself and leave, his response was to write back to the kids, enclosing some of the volcanic ash that was even then covering the area.

Just four days before he died, Harry did leave his lodge. National Geographic paid for him to fly via helicopter to Oregon to answer questions and sign autographs to a group of schoolchildren. In one of his last messages, he said, “I’m king of all I survey. I’ve got plenty [of] whiskey.”^[17] And then he flew back to the base of the mountain, as the very ground shook beneath his feet.

Christ is coming to save the world. But with His deliverance He brings wrath and destruction on those who refuse to believe Him. Have you believed? God loves you. He wants to save you. He’s explained what He’s doing and what’s going on in the world and how He can totally transform your life. Each beat of our hearts brings us closer to the Day. If you haven’t accept Him. If you have, be awake, be animated, be invigorated to live out your Christianity in a true and meaningful way.

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References
↑1	Richard Slatta The Mythical West: An Encyclopedia Of Legend, Lore, And Popular Culture
↑2	“Ballad Of Harry Truman Hails Folk Hero” The Washington Star September 1, 1981
↑3	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_R._Truman
↑4	“Mud, ash inundate old Truman’s lodge” The Bulletin May 21, 1980. p 27
↑5	The Bulletin
↑6	Michael Green Washington In The Pacific Northwest
↑7	Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary Of Old And New Testament Words
↑8	Edwin Blum The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 12: Hebrews Through Revelation
↑9	Dick Lucas & Christopher Green The Message Of 2 Peter & Jude
↑10	Acts 2:17
↑11	Tord Fornberg An Early Church In A Pluralistic Society: A Study Of 2 Peter
↑12	Blum
↑13	D. Edmond Hiebert Second Peter And Jude
↑14	Rick Oliver Designed To Kill In A Fallen World
↑15	Zephaniah 1:14
↑16	Matthew 3:11-12
↑17	R. Findley St. Helens: Mountain With A Death Wish National Geographic Volume 159, No. 1

Asking For Trouble (Mark 10:32-45)

April 8, 2026

What’s the biggest gift you ever asked for? Think back to letters to Santa or your wedding registry. Sometimes the request betrays an ugly selfishness. Like when a boy told Santa, saying he’d be more than willing to trade his sister for a north pole elf just as soon as the stork dropped her off.^[1]

Sometimes it’s just the size of the ask that raises eyebrows. Last year, Elon Musk asked to have his 2018 Tesla pay package reinstated after a judge said he couldn’t have it. It took a while, but he finally won what the company offered him: $139 billion dollars.^[2]

In our text, James and John bring a big request to Jesus. But not only do they not realize what it would cost for them to get what they want, they also have not considered that their motivations are not at all in line with the example or the guidance Jesus has given them.

A Christian does not lift themselves up at the expense of others – like the boy trading his sister for an elf. And so, in yet another cringe-inducing interchange, Jesus tries once again to explain that greatness in His Kingdom is found in service, in humility, and in following our Savior’s example.

We want to examine this text not as though we’d never make a similar mistake. After all, we ask the Lord for a lot of things. And we’re not immune from the flaws we see in the apostles. And so, we don’t want to read this text to laugh at their blunder, but to learn how to evaluate ourselves.

Mark 10:32a – ³² They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were astonished, but those who followed him were afraid.

Morale is a little low. The group has been traveling from Galilee in the north on the southern road leading to Jerusalem. All along the way, the Lord has been challenging and correcting the disciples’ assumptions and understandings. He’s been blowing their minds with truths that totally upend their spiritual perspective. At times, He has had to rebuke them outright. In fact, He recently became indignant at them for their behavior.

But they followed. We have to commend their faithfulness. Many had turned back from following the Lord. The rich young ruler would not follow as a disciple. But they followed. And they weren’t lagging behind the Lord. Rabbis usually walked in front of their students.^[3]

But Mark also wants us to understand that while the disciples were wrestling with confusion, the Lord Jesus was fixed on His mission. As one commentator put it, He’s “anxious to get on with it.”^[4] “It” being the cross, our deliverance. He was not afraid. He was adamant.

Mark 10:32b-34 – Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them the things that would happen to him. ³³ “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles, ³⁴ and they will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him, and he will rise after three days.”

This is the third time in Mark that Jesus predicted what would happen. Each time He adds additional detail or clarity. Here He spells it all the way out. And now, they’re closing in. They’re on the ascent to Jerusalem. The disciples feel the pressure, they’re aware of danger, but Luke explains that they understood none of these things.^[5]

We cannot understand spiritual truths without the indwelling Holy Spirit.^[6] As we’re growing in our knowledge of the Word, we also must grow in our relationship with God the Holy Spirit. I’m not criticizing the 12 for that because they had not yet received the indwelling Holy Spirit.^[7] But their missteps in this phase of discipleship highlight for us how necessary relationship with the Holy Spirit is. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit is our Counselor Who will teach us all things and remind us of everything Christ has told us.^[8] He does this and much more, and so let’s never neglect Him.

Mark 10:35 – ³⁵ James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask you.”

Wow. Has anyone ever asked you something that made you spit out your drink? They know from the start that what they’re asking is a little beyond the pale. That’s why they want Him to agree before telling Him what they want.

On top of giving in to selfishness here, James and John fail to treat Jesus as a real Person. I mean, He’s just said, “Guys, I’m about to be murdered. In a short time, I’m going to be tortured and brutalized and treated with more contempt than any of us can imagine.”

“Ok. Anyway, we have some things we’d like You to give us.” But I have to admit I’ve treated Jesus this way in my prayer life. More butler than Commander. Rattling off want after want after want without pausing to thank Him or give Him praise or wait for Him to speak to my heart.

Now listen: God wants us to cast our cares on Him. He wants us to bring Him our petitions and requests. But that’s not all prayer is about, not by a long shot. And though all of us have wants in life – and the Lord wants to hear about them – discipleship means adjusting our thinking and remind ourselves that what matters more is what God wants for our lives.

Mark 10:36 – ³⁶ “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked them.

The Lord is so patient. Yes, there were times where He had to sharply rebuke His people, but over and over we see His grace, we see His patience, we see His tenderness in how He dealt with people who were dealing badly with Him. Those who should’ve known better and done better. But as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows what we are made of, remembering that we are dust.^[9]

Not only is this patience, it’s also kindness. He gives them one more chance to abort this ill-conceived mission. The Lord often asks questions like this to give us a chance to think through our choices, our attitudes, our designs. “Where are you, Adam?” “Why are you angry, Cain?” “Where are you going, Hagar?” “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Mark 10:37 – They answered him, “Allow us to sit at your right and at your left in your glory.”

It’s a big ask. They want to be the top, crown princes in the Kingdom.^[10] Kudos for swinging for the fence, guys, but it’s the same problem the 12 had been wrestling with this whole trip: Who is the greatest? How can I get in front of someone else? They want to sit, not serve.

Robert Utley points out that every time Christ predicted His death in Mark, the disciples start worrying about who will take His place as the big boss.^[11]

When we ask the Lord for things, we must first evaluate the motives behind the ask. Now, this is hard, because in our fallen humanity, sometimes we don’t even know our own hearts.^[12] But a different James – the half-brother of Christ – explains in his epistle:

James 4:3 – ³ You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Rather than praying and asking that way, the Lord encouraged us to pray that God’s will be done on earth and in our lives. What is His plan, His design, His program for the life He’s given us today?

Mark 10:38-39a – ³⁸ Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” ³⁹ “We are able,” they told him.

In the Old Testament, being given a cup to drink referred to what God has in store for someone.^[13] Jesus uses drinking a cup and being baptized as a metaphor for suffering and death.

He is gently trying to help them understand that Kingdom greatness costs something. Suffering. Service. Surrender. Dying to self, not exalting ourselves.

They glibly say, “Sure. We can do it.” They’re just saying what they think He wants to hear. They have not faced the cost. They will abandon Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Throughout this section we’re seeing how quick our human hearts are to rely on ourselves and over-inflate our spirituality. The rich young ruler did it, Peter did it, James and John are doing it. We tend to do it, too if we’re not careful. “We are able.” And yet they weren’t willing to wash feet.

Mark 10:39b-40 – Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with. ⁴⁰ But to sit at my right or left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

Great irony here. They say, “Of course we’re able to do whatever to get this thing we’re asking for,” and now Jesus says, “Ok, well, you are going to pay the price. You’re going to be submerged in suffering and death for the sake of the Gospel,^[14] but you’re not going to get the position.”

Not that they wouldn’t rule and reign with the Lord – I mean, James and John have their names written on the foundations of the wall of New Jerusalem! But their ask was so high, it wasn’t even Christ’s to give! Who will receive this honor? No idea. That’s God’s business.

But, as we walk with God, as we cooperate with His plan, we will endure suffering. The New Testament talks a lot about suffering to us because it’s going to be part of the Christian experience. Part of discipleship, part of honoring God, is suffering. That doesn’t mean we go looking for it, but let’s be honest about what we’re agreeing to and not think it strange when it happens or lash out against God when it does.

Mark 10:41 – ⁴¹ When the ten disciples heard this, they began to be indignant with James and John.

They’re not mad because James and John were being rude to Jesus, but because they asked first.^[15] This is a rare time where Peter had been frozen out of the Three Amigos. Usually it was Peter, James, and John. Not this time. If I was Andrew, I would’ve been mad at James and John but also thinking, “Yeah, Pete, see how it feels?” But when our hearts are in a pattern of selfishness, you bet we’re going to get mad at other people.

Mark 10:42-45 – ⁴² Jesus called them over and said to them, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. ⁴³ But it is not so among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first among you will be a slave to all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Remember how the unit starts: Jesus is leading the way to Jerusalem with purpose and urgency. Though His disciples are following, spiritually they have fallen behind. So now He has to pause, put His plan on hold, and perform 12 heart surgeries.

The Lord is so gracious. So kind. So faithful. He stops and says, “Ok guys, come here.” And once again tells them what He’s already told them. He already taught this lesson in Capernaum. He taught it by example every day. This is not a new revelation. It’s just one they wouldn’t yet submit to.

But again He explains that the way of the cross is through grace, service, humility, and meekness. Christian lives and Christian activity should not look like the world. It should not be organized like the world. He says, “Here’s what those in the world do. But it is not so among you.”

And to drive the point home one more time, Jesus says, “Look at Me. I came to serve. While you’re worried about how high of a position you think you’re owed in the Kingdom, I’m making sure you can be bought out of hell!”

Now, aside from the practical teaching, there’s also an important theological teaching here. Jesus is identifying Himself as the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53.^[16] He was struck for our rebellion. Crushed for our iniquities. He bore our sicknesses and carried our pains. He did not shrink from any of it. From foot washing to foot piercing. That’s our Lord and Savior. That’s the Master we follow.

And now He not only calls us to follow after Him, He explains that the way of the cross is the way to spiritual greatness in His Kingdom. Selflessness. Service. And not only doing acts of service, but being willing to be be treated as inferior to those around us.^[17] So, if I say to the Lord, “Well, I’m willing to push a broom, but if I’m not thanked for it, then I’m going to quit,” ok, that’s like the rich young ruler. That’s a refusal to follow as a disciple.

You see, discipleship is not internship. Why does a person intern? To get a foot in the door, to get experience, to get leveled up. If you intern, you double your odds of getting a job and that job will pay more.^[18] But discipleship isn’t about my greatness. It’s encapsulated by what John the Baptist so famously said: “He must increase, I must decrease.”

So, as we walk through these passages, we want to recognize those things that kept dogging the disciples tend to dog us today. And we want to once again answer the call to discipleship. To not only do what God asks, but to think how He thinks. Which will transform our hearts and the things we ask for and how we relate to others only for the better! Because we will be in proper position, following our leader, not falling behind, not motivated by selfishness, but service to the King.

 [+]

References
↑1	https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/brief-history-sending-letter-santa-180957441/
↑2	https://finance.yahoo.com/news/musk-wins-appeal-restores-2018-212635609.html
↑3	James Brooks The New American Commentary, Volume 23: Mark
↑4	R.T. France The Gospel Of Mark
↑5	Luke 18:34
↑6	John 16:13, 1 Corinthians 2:14
↑7	John 20:22
↑8	John 14:26
↑9	Psalm 103:13-14
↑10	David Garland The NIV Application Commentary: Mark
↑11	Robert Utley The Gospel According To Peter: Mark And I & II Peter
↑12	Jeremiah 17:9
↑13	Morna Hooker The Gospel According To Saint Mark
↑14	Garland
↑15	Brooks
↑16	Craig Keener The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament Second Edition
↑17	Keener
↑18	https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonbusteed/2026/03/24/13-stats-everyone-needs-to-know-about-internships/

The Sepulchral Mystery Tour (John 20:1-10)

April 5, 2026

It was just past midnight in Bavaria, Germany. Lisa’s doorbell rang. She assumed it was just someone playing ding-dong-ditch. But then her sister-in-law, who lived in the apartment above, called. Her doorbell had been ringing over and over. While they were on the phone, Lisa’s bell rang again.

Here’s where the mystery gets interesting: No person was setting off either their cameras or their motion-detecting lights.

It was then that Lisa called the police. They searched the premises, but found nothing. It was like a classic Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes scene: An eerie set of circumstances that seemed impossible, yet clearly something had come knocking on multiple doors.

Lisa’s husband finally solved the case when he found an important clue. Looking carefully at the doorbell, he saw a little trail of slimy residue. Follow the trial and you’d find the culprit sitting right there in plain view: A slug on the nameplate.^[1]

Most of us love a good mystery. That’s why Agatha Christie still sells 5 million copies a year,^[2] why Clue is the second best-selling board game franchise,^[3] and why you can pay $1,000 per person to be the detective at a murder mystery weekend getaway.^[4]

The first Easter Sunday was a heart-pounding mystery. Only, instead of being surprised by a body, they were surprised to not find a body. Jesus’ followers found themselves in what seemed like an impossible scene. Left behind were eerie and bewildering clues.

What makes the scene all the more strange is when we realize that Jesus was there, watching His disciples encounter the mystery. Not just Jesus, but also angels. The risen Christ hides Himself at first, so that Peter and John do not see Him. And the two angels on site must’ve been told, “Don’t show yourself when Peter and John come into the tomb. Wait till they’re gone.”

Why would Jesus do this? We know He fully intended on revealing Himself in His resurrection glory not just once but many times before He ascended into heaven. But that morning, He set up a mystery. It begins in verse 1 of John 20.

John 20:1-2 – ¹On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark. She saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. ² So she went running to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said to them, “They’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him!”

Mary and a number of other ladies wanted to anoint Jesus’ body with spices, as was the custom for burial. But they didn’t have time to get it done before the Sabbath began on Friday at sunset.^[5]

The Sabbath ended sundown Saturday, but they couldn’t do what they wanted at night. So they left as early as they could Sunday morning. The sun had not yet risen, though the Son of God had.

Picture it: A murky morning in a graveyard. A heart-broken and confused group of people trying to find their way. This is a classic mystery setup. If it was a movie, we’d be ready for a jump scare.

Mary was not alone, note how she said “We don’t know where they’ve put Him.” Also note their mindset. They had no inclination that Jesus was alive. No ember of hope. They went to the tomb to take care of a body. When they found the tomb empty, they still assumed not that He was alive, but simply that He had been moved. After all…Jesus couldn’t be alive. It was over.

Jesus had been placed in a borrowed tomb. It belonged to Joseph of Arimathea who was a member of the Sanhedrin – Israel’s supreme court and congress. Joseph was a good and righteous man. He had not agreed with nor participated in the murderous conspiracy against Jesus.^[6]

The fact that this tomb had a circular stone demonstrates how wealthy Joseph was. Archaeologists have excavated over 1,000 tombs in the Jerusalem area and only four rolling stones have ever been found. Usually the covering was just a big rock blocking the entrance. A round, rolling stone was typically for kings and queens.^[7] How fitting that Christ’s borrowed tomb had one.

Now listen: Some have said that the resurrection was a hoax made up by the disciples. But notice how there is absolutely no suggestion of resurrection in their minds. A resurrection hoax? Who would believe a lie like that when even the disciples didn’t believe it on Sunday morning? No, the story of the resurrection spread because it was undeniable. It wasn’t a conspiracy, it was reality.

John 20:3-4 – ³ At that, Peter and the other disciple went out, heading for the tomb. ⁴ The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and got to the tomb first.

When is the last situation you were in where you needed to sprint? Not for fun or for sport, but for urgency and concern? Mary is running. Peter is running. John is running.

It is touching to realize how much Jesus meant to these people. Their behavior on Easter Sunday demonstrates the depth of their love and attachment to Him. These ladies are carrying many pounds of spices so that they can apply them to a dead body. I don’t know about you, but it would take a lot of love for me to be willing to interact with a corpse like that.

They go out, without escort, in the dark, knowing they’ll probably have to talk their way through some unfriendly soldiers to get to the body. They’ll have the difficult and harrowing task of handling Jesus’ remains. It will be one of the hardest things they’d ever have to do, but they cared that much about the Lord.

And now we see Peter and John. John is “the disciples Jesus loved,” the author of this book. This is an eye-witness, autobiographical story. At the time, the disciples of Jesus were in hiding because they were afraid that they, too, would be arrested and killed.^[8] But hearing this news was worth the risk. Not because they thought He might be alive, but because even His burial was that important to them. Jesus mattered that much to them. In their minds, they’d risk their lives for His dead body.

John 20:5 – ⁵ Stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.

John does something important with his words that get hidden in the English translation. He’s going to use the word “saw” three times between verses 5 and 8, but each time he uses a different Greek term. We just see “saw,” but there is a progression as the mystery unfolds.

This first term refers to simple seeing.^[9] He looked inside the opening and saw cloths. I learned something that has changed the way I imagine this scene. I typically imagine a door-sized opening to a cave-sized tomb. I imagine the stone being taller than me – a huge, thick, pizza of rock.

But did you notice how it said, “Stooping down, he saw?” Remember how I said archaeologists have excavated over 1,000 of these tombs? In most cases, the entrance was about 3 feet high. An adult would have to practically crawl in.^[10]

Seeing the empty cloths would’ve not only been confusing but upsetting. Remember – in the moment they still haven’t understood Jesus was risen from the dead. So that leaves only a couple options. Either the body was stolen, or the body was moved elsewhere. If stolen, they might have cut open the cloths to get to valuables that were sometimes buried with the dead. But grave robbers would’ve left the corpse. If the body had been moved, they wouldn’t have unwrapped it. Jesus had been anointed with more than 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes.^[11] So if He was being placed somewhere else, they’d want to keep the package together.

But bloodied cloths on their own? That’s a mystery that made no sense. It didn’t fit the normal expectations.

John 20:6-7 – ⁶ Then, following him, Simon Peter also came. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. ⁷ The wrapping that had been on his head was not lying with the linen cloths but was folded up in a separate place by itself.

Jewish bodies weren’t wrapped like mummies. That’s another mental image we might need to adjust. Typically, the face, neck, and upper part of the shoulders were left bare.^[12] They would sometimes wrap a kerchief underneath the jaw to keep the mouth from falling open.^[13]

But there’s a new mysterious clue here: The head wrapping was folded up neatly and set in a different place.

Meaning, when He rose, Jesus took His time. It was as if He was checking out of a hotel room. But why? Why fold the wrapping? Why leave these strange clues?

Peter crawls through the entrance and we have our second “saw.” This time, John uses a Greek term that refers to looking carefully.^[14] He was observing. He was being drawn into the mystery.

John 20:8 – ⁸ The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, then also went in, saw, and believed.

The third “saw” is here, and this time the term means to see with understanding. To realize.^[15] John sees the scene, he remembers what the Lord had said before, he pieces the impossible together and then becomes the very first person ever to believe in the resurrection!^[16] It’s the only answer that fits the clues.

I can’t help but notice a callback in the Gospel story. When Christ first arrived, how was He found? A Babe, wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a borrowed stable. And now, at the climax of His Incarnate work, what do we find? Swaddling cloths again.^[17] That’s what He was wrapped in. And He was laid in a borrowed tomb. But this time, it wasn’t shepherds who saw Him, but fishermen who didn’t see Him. He was waiting in the wings, about to have a tender, one-on-one chat with Mary.

John 20:9 – ⁹ For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he must rise from the dead.

It’s not totally clear what Scripture John is referring to, specifically. A good candidate is Psalm 16:10. That’s the one Peter references in his sermon at Pentecost when he was talking about the resurrection. But Hosea 6:2 and Isaiah 53:10-12 are other possible candidates.

Not only did the disciples know these Scriptures, Jesus had openly talked about rising from the dead. So why was it so hard for them to grasp it?

Well, the fact of the matter is, we humans are slow to understand spiritual truths. A person can even have the whole Bible memorized, but not truly apprehend it. We see that in the Pharisees of Jesus’ time or in many unbelieving academics today. God gives us the revelation of His word so that we might know Him and know the truth, but if we do not have the indwelling Holy Spirit, we won’t be able to fully comprehend what God has revealed.^[18] We have to not just know, not just observe, but we must take the step John took: We must believe. And as we enter into relationship with God through faith, then the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth.^[19]

The truth is: Jesus must rise from the dead. If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, then nothing else He said or did matters. If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, your faith is worthless, you are still trapped in your sin, and there is no hope. But since Jesus did rise from the dead, everything He said, everything He did, everything He commands now becomes the most important truth you could possibly apply to your life. And you must apply it if you want to share in His victory over death. Christ wants to share His resurrection power with you, but it is only received by grace, through faith in Jesus. This is the truth that the Bible reveals. And it must be this way.

John 20:10 – ¹⁰ Then the disciples returned to the place where they were staying.

Jesus let them go back without revealing Himself. He would soon. But first He had a plan to speak with Mary. Meanwhile, the 12 are left to wrestle with the mystery. To consider the clues. To try to figure out what had happened.

Why? Why the mystery? Why wasn’t Jesus waiting there for them that day? Why didn’t He immediately go to where they were? If we’re honest, we’d like Jesus to just show Himself to us, too, right? So why did He stage this mystery scene? Because what He wanted for them and what God wants for us is to choose to believe. He says at much to Thomas the Twin later in this chapter.

God’s desire is to draw us in. He leaves clues. He sends messages. The expanse of the cosmos declares His handiwork. He demonstrates His love toward you. One of the greatest proofs of His love for you is the fact that Christ died on a cross. Why did that happen? What did it mean? Read the Gospels. It was for you. So you could be rescued from sin, from death, from the grave.

And now, God sends you all the clues, all the information, all the proofs you need to realize He is real, He is alive, He loves you, and He wants to be found by you. He wants you to have that moment in any good mystery where all the pieces come together and the main character realizes the truth – the truth that has been right in front of them the whole time. Have you realized it yet? The truth of Easter? The meaning of the Gospel? That Jesus is alive and invites you to be His disciple? He’s knocking on the door of your heart. Answer the door.

 [+]

References
↑1	https://www.popsci.com/environment/slug-ringing-doorbells-germany/
↑2	https://linguapress.com/advanced/agatha-christie
↑3	https://coopboardgames.com/statistics/clue-cluedo/
↑4	https://www.murdermystery.com/weekends
↑5	Luke 23:55-24:1
↑6	Luke 24:50-53
↑7	https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/what-did-jesus-tomb-look-like-interview/
↑8	John 20:19
↑9	R. Kent Hughes John: That You May Believe
↑10	The NET Bible First Edition Notes
↑11	John 19:39
↑12	Henry Latham The Risen Master
↑13	Robert Utley The Beloved Disciple’s Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John
↑14	Hughes
↑15	Hughes
↑16	Archibald Robertson Word Pictures In The New Testament
↑17	Hughes
↑18	1 Corinthians 2:14
↑19	John 16:13

Entry Data (Mark 10:23-31)

April 1, 2026

Some groups are hard to get into. 80% of Navy SEAL candidates fail out of BUD/S. NASA rejected 99.9% of applicants for their 2021 astronaut class. They selected only 10 out of 12,000.^[1]

Maybe you’ve heard of Skull and Bones. It’s the oldest of several secret societies at Yale. They admit just 15 members per year. Many of them go on to occupy positions of power in American society. Three presidents boasted membership.

It starts on a night in April called “tap night.” High-achieving Juniors are “tapped” and invited into the initiation process,^[2] which is full of strange, even satanic elements since it’s founding in 1832.^[3]

Initiates are forced to take oaths, drink “blood,” (really just Kool-Aid), be whipped in the face by someone dressed as the Devil. They are forced to their knees, and must swear to secrecy.

Skull and Bones “is notorious for boasting stricter rules than any of Yale’s other secret societies.”^[4] Members take on new names used by other bonesmen. Names like “Baal,” Gog,” and “Magog.”^[5]

But harder than getting into the SEALS, the Astronaut Corps or Skull and Bones, is getting into the Kingdom of Heaven. In our text, Christ explains it is not only difficult, it is, in fact, impossible for men to make it in on their own. The Kingdom of Heaven is absolutely exclusive. And yet, God has thrown the gates open wide and beckoned all to come. But how can we enter if we can not qualify?

Christ explains entrance is not based on achievement or status or intellect. No, to get in you and I must do what the Rich Young Ruler refused to do: Die to self and become disciples. We follow Jesus through the gate. But that includes a willingness to relinquish all claims, all rights, and if demanded, even all possessions to the Lord, our Savior, our Master, our Leader.

Last time we were in Mark we saw the Rich Young Ruler run up to Jesus and say, “What do I have to do to inherit eternal life?” This was a guy who would’ve been in Skull and Bones. Sadly, at the end of his interaction with Jesus, he chose not to do the two things Jesus asked him to do: Give away his wealth and become a disciple. He wasn’t willing. After all, he was a ruler.

Allowing someone with this much power and influence to slip away was shocking enough to the disciples. But now the Lord is going to use the situation as an object lesson, not just for those who are thinking about become disciples, but for all of us.

Mark 10:23-24a – ²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ The disciples were astonished at his words…

They weren’t just a little surprised, they were greatly astounded.^[6] If these words were shocking and sobering to the disciples, they should be for us, too. Let’s not pass casually by what the Lord is saying. After all, the conclusion Peter comes to is, “well…no one can be saved!”

As usually, Jesus upends their assumptions. They thought wealth was a sign of God’s favor. R.T. France writes, “In Jewish society it was generally taken for granted that wealth was to be welcomed as a mark of God’s blessing.”^[7] And yet, here is Jesus saying that affluence is a barrier to entry.

It is not the only barrier and wealth on its own is not evil. But it carries the dangerous spiritual side effect of self-reliance. Money can solve a lot of problems, at least in the short term. But a byproduct is often that a person starts to rely upon the earthly fortune rather than the heavenly Father.

You’ve heard about how certain drugs hijack the brain’s reward system and can, for a time, flood the brain with plenty of dopamine. But eventually, it damages the brain’s ability to create or process dopamine. The receptors start to die off.

In a spiritual sense, if a Christian relies on material resources for their security, their decisions, to be the driving motivator and navigator of life, it becomes a terrible barrier to discipleship.

We have got to take this warning to heart. I know “rich” is relative, but by nature of the time and place we live in, all of us have greater financial provision, stability, reserves than almost every human being who has ever lived! And the flesh wants to make Rich Young Rulers out of all of us.

Mark 10:24b – Again Jesus said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

Jesus wants to be clear – He did not misspeak. He didn’t need to walk back His comments. He says, “No, you heard Me right.” But notice what He calls them: Children. Jesus is not being clinical here, He’s being caring. He speaks to them as beloved children, helping them understand.

Throughout this whole section of Mark, the Lord wants us to remember that we are children. Be like a child. In fact, if you don’t receive the Kingdom like a child, you’ll never enter it.^[8] Consider what that means in this context. Children cannot be a rich young ruler. They’re young, but they do not rule. Children are totally dependent on their parents for their room and their board and their schedules and their learning and so many other things. They are ruled. They are dependents.

And children are not rich. I mean, there are kids who live in rich families, but it’s not their bank account or portfolio. They simply enjoy the riches of their parents.

Jerry Seinfeld once told the story of how his kids asked him if they were rich. His answer was, “I am. You’re not.”^[9] Whatever the Lord allows us to have, we should understand it’s His, not ours.

Mark 10:25 – ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

We need to have a carefully, purposefully loose hold on our wealth and possessions. The spiritual problems that wealth can cause are not limited to Lot or the Rich Young Ruler. Look at what happened to Ananias and Sapphira. They were believers who became ensnared by greed. Look at Demas, who had been a coworker in the ministry with Paul the apostle, but in the end deserted him because he loved this present world. It can happen to us. Wealth is a deceitful weed that can easily choke out the word and the growth of fruit in our lives.

Now, perhaps you have heard some Bible teacher say that there was this particularly little gate in Jerusalem, and that camels would have to unload all their cargo and get down on their knees to pass through this gate. It’s a great sermon illustration. It’s just not true. Not even a little bit. There is no historical evidence for any such gate.^[10] The idea comes from a note in a ninth-century commentary.^[11] Hopefully that doesn’t burst anyone’s bubble.

But that idea also flies in the face of what Jesus is saying. He’s not saying, “Well just do a hard thing and then you’ll be qualified.” No, He’s saying it’s impossible. The largest animal, the smallest space. It’s not going to happen. And that’s exactly how the disciples understood it.

Mark 10:26 – ²⁶ They were even more astonished, saying to one another, “Then who can be saved?”

They are overwhelmed by this truth.^[12] And it is an overwhelming revelation. Because all of human religion comes down to human effort. That we, through work or piety or goodness or penance or contrition or whatever it is, we can earn our way out of hell and into heaven. But Jesus once and for all explains why Christianity is absolutely different from every other human religion or philosophy.

Mark 10:27 – ²⁷ Looking at them, Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God.”

God will make a way. God makes it possible. That’s why Jesus was there – to make the way so we can follow Him from death to life, from gloom to glory.

So, Jesus rightly points out the hopelessness of the situation – and the disciples felt it. But He did not leave us hopeless. Here in verse 27, Jesus sees our weakness. With man, it’s impossible. But then He provides a route to salvation by His strength.

It is an extra barrier to entry for those of us who are wealthy to enter the Kingdom. But, even if you’re the poorest person on the planet, none of us can squeeze through on our own.

But God is gracious. He not only makes a way, He clears the way and shows us where the pitfalls are, where the stumbling stones are, which way to turn at the forks in the road.

That means no matter what you’ve done, no matter how badly you’ve messed up or spoiled your life, you can be made new by God’s power. You can be rescued from your sin and your past and the guilt that you feel. With man it’s impossible, because we are trapped by those things and are unable to go back and undo them. But God is eternal. He can make us white as snow and remember our sins no more. He can transform us and renew us and bring beauty from ashes.

Mark 10:28 – ²⁸ Peter began to tell him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”

Oh Peter! Still trying to rank himself. Still trying to earn his way in. You know, the Rich Young Ruler had come saying, “I’ve checked all the boxes, so I’m owed eternal life.” Now Peter deflects the sharp standard Jesus has just laid out for them and says, “Well, look at the box WE checked. WE did the thing that other guy was unwilling to do. We have left everything.” Of course, this is being said by the one who will soon deny he even knows Jesus three times.

They had left a lot, but they had not left everything. Peter still had a house. Still had a wife and a mother-in-law. He still owned a boat and tackle. And that’s ok! But this is what we tend to do in our walk with the Lord. We rationalize certain choices and say, “Well, God certainly doesn’t mean I need to sell my house! God certainly doesn’t want me to give 10% of my income, 25% of my income, 50% of my income. I don’t need to do that because I’ve already checked this other box over here.”

That’s the human mentality. The Rich Young Ruler had it, Peter had it, we tend to have it. But it’s never about boxes. It’s about the leading of our Lord, Who commands us to do what He knows we need to do. “One thing you lack,” He told the Rich Young Ruler. So how is God leading you?

Mark 10:29-31 – ²⁹ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said, “there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundred times more, now at this time—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and eternal life in the age to come. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

When Jesus says we will receive these things “now at this time,” He isn’t teaching some sort of prosperity Gospel – after all notice the promise of persecution. He means that we find that family, that support, that sustenance in the Church. Here we are to love each other as brothers and sisters. We open our homes to one another. We provide what is necessary in times of need.

Notice that Jesus said you can leave brothers or sisters, mother or father or children, but in return you receive brothers and sisters, mothers…and children. No father. Why? Because we all have a heavenly Father. God the Father. Who loves you like a son or daughter. He really does. He will always be your father, no matter what you’ve lost.

But there’s another wonderful principle here for us to understand about the goodness and grace of our God. Look at His generosity. You leave a house for the sake of the Gospel, He gives you a hundred both now and in eternity. You lose a mother, He’ll give you a hundred more. Our Lord is never in debt to us. He not only repays, He overpays.

William Lane writes, “God takes nothing away from a man without restoring it to him in a new and glorious form.”^[13]

But this text again reminds us that discipleship is not done in isolation. It’s done together in the spiritual family that the Holy Spirit has drawn you to be a part of. We follow together. We support one another. We bear fruit individually and corporately. Yes, there are times when God sends us out alone, or does a solitary work in our lives. But the normal operation of discipleship is yoked together with other disciples. Worshipping together. Praying together. Rejoicing together. Weeping together. Growing together. The Church is a great benefit given to us by a generous God.

It’s said that when you are initiated to Skull and Bones, you are forced to tell your whole life story, particularly things that are compromising or embarrassing. It provides the group with blackmail on each other to be leveraged at opportune times. What kind of a fraternity is that? A worldly one.

And no statement of purpose exists for Skull and Bones. People desperately want to be in the club, but what is it even for? My own prestige and position. My own advancement.

Christ calls us into discipleship with clear purposes: That we might have life and have it more abundantly. That God might accomplish the impossible for us and through us. That we can receive more and more of His power and grace as we walk with Him. That we can be set free from the traps we’re in.

So, the question is: What steps is He asking of us today? Just as God looked at Peter, He looked at the Rich Young Ruler, so He looks at us. He sees who we are, where we are, what we need, what we lack, and He gives bespoke directions. It’s not about checking boxes. It’s about following our Master. Sacrifice will be a part of it. A change of perspective is demanded. After all, we’re told to lose the world and save our souls. But what we gain is worth any cost, any effort, anything He asks us to leave behind.

 [+]

References
↑1	https://www.wral.com/story/nasa-introduces-the-new-astronaut-class-of-2021/20021204/
↑2	https://yaledailynews.com/articles/societies-hold-mystery
↑3	Alexandra Robbins Secrets Of The Tomb: Skull And Bones, The Ivy League, And The Hidden Paths Of Power
↑4	ibid.
↑5	ibid.
↑6	James Swanson Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek New Testament
↑7	R.T. France The Gospel Of Mark
↑8	Mark 10:15
↑9	https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/jerry-seinfeld-kevin-hart-kids-wealth-fame/story?id=26741350
↑10	Robert Utley The Gospel According To Peter: Mark And I & II Peter
↑11	Ben Witherington The Gospel Of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary
↑12	John Walvoord and Roy Zuck The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures
↑13	William Lane The Gospel Of Mark

Where There’s A Swill, There’s Astray (2 Peter 2:17-22)

March 29, 2026

In the mid 1800’s, New York was rocked by a terrible and deadly scandal. Clean drinking water was scarce, so demand for milk skyrocketed. Local distilleries realized they could cash in on this market. So, they brought in cows to milk. And then they had a great business idea: Why not feed the cows with the grain mash that was leftover from making whiskey?^[1]

The problem is, cows don’t want to eat hot alcohol mash. In fact, the cows would only eat it if they were starving.^[2] And so that’s exactly what these milkers did. The diseased cows would be held up by ropes – milked as they were dying.^[3] Many of the cows’ teeth had rotted out and tails had fallen off. The lifespan of of a cow in one of these places was about 6 months.

Their milk was known as swill milk. It was a grotesque, bluish liquid mixture of milk, pus, and dirty water added to stretch out the yield.^[4] To make it more palatable to customers, it was thickened with rotten eggs and molasses. To make it white, they’d stir in plaster of Paris.^[5] And then it was loaded up into a truck whose side said, “Pure Country Milk.”^[6] And day after day, the children drank.

By the late 1830’s, swill milk made up “between 50 and 80% of all milk consumed in America’s large northeastern cities.”^[7] As a result, 8,000 infants were dying every year in New York City alone.

In 1858, a journalist named Frank Leslie published an exposé on swill milk, leading to an outcry from the public. What did the distilleries do? They “hired chemists to run experiments showing that not only was swill milk not a danger, it was positively healthier for children.”

One of the major reasons the scourge of swill milk was finally defeated was a man named Nathan Straus understood the danger. He used his own wealth to provide pasteurization equipment for New York City’s orphanage. At his own expense, he established 297 milk stations in 36 cities. It is estimated that Nathan directly saved the lives of 445,000 children.^[8] But someone had to sound the alarm and give the equipment needed for those lives to be saved.

That’s what Peter did in this letter. False teachers were selling lethal spiritual milk and fighting hard against anyone who questioned them. They were especially targeting those who were brand new Christians – babies in the Lord.

2 Peter 2:17 – ¹⁷ These people are springs without water, mists driven by a storm. The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them.

This text is very similar to Jude 12 and 13. Both writers stack up metaphors to make it clear who these guys really are underneath. They’re springs without water. You go there to get a drink, to keep yourself alive, but there’s no water. You can’t slake your thirst or irrigate your crops.

They’re mists driven by a storm. They are blown about by their own whims or various trends that come through. Offering relief, they leave you high and dry. In the arid climate of the middle east, the land needed the nourishing moisture of mist, but before the dry land is able to soak anything up, here comes the wind to blow it away.^[9]

Jude says they’re like hidden reefs. You’re sailing along, thinking you’ve got clear seas, but then you run into these teachers and the hull of your life is torn open. They are shepherds who only look after themselves. He says they are fruitless trees, twice dead and uprooted.

Could the apostles be any clearer? This is who these guys are. In verses 10 through 16, Peter explains their character. In 17 through 22, he explains the consequences of following them. The impact they make on people’s lives.^[10] He puts the bottom line up front: They’re headed to the gloom of darkness. Remember that image from verse 4? That’s the place the evil angels are held until judgment. And these false teachers and their followers are sailing to that port.

Meanwhile, where does our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ lead us? Here’s what Isaiah said:

Isaiah 58:11 – ¹¹ The LORD will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose water never runs dry.

Oh, the absolute opposite! Sustained and satisfied and thriving and bearing fruit because our Lord is not a spring without water. Ask of Him and He will give you living water.^[11]

2 Peter 2:18 – ¹⁸ For by uttering boastful, empty words, they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped from those who live in error.

Why would anyone follow these false teachers? They offered freedom. Pleasure. All you could possibly want for yourself. “Pure Country Milk.”

Barely escaped here refers to those who were recently coming to faith in Christ.^[12] So here you are, a Gentile who lived a pagan life of sexual promiscuity, gluttony, drunkenness, no restraint, all selfishness. You hear the Gospel of Jesus and you realize that here are the answers your soul has been groping for deep in your heart all your life. But, just as you start to step into a life of faith, these people, claiming to be Christians, claiming to have secret enlightenment, they come to you and say, “You can have Jesus and paganism. There is no need to follow any law. We’re free from the Law.” And the way they said it was awfully impressive. People new to the faith are vulnerable.

Some speakers or leaders or content creators are incredibly impressive in the way they communicate. But what is the content? Where do their directions lead? It is the substance that matters, not the show. Not the stage or the fanfare or the charisma. Consider the content.

2 Peter 2:19 – ¹⁹ They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them.

They offered total freedom. Not just from the Law, but from any law. “You can be your own master. After all, the apostles didn’t know what they were talking about. And Jesus is never coming back!”

But friends, all of us must serve a master. When a person says they are their own master, in reality they’re enslaved to their sin. You can either serve the law of God or the law of sin.^[13] Those who say they’re enjoying the pleasures of life, look at the swill they’re drinking. If you’re free, why are you addicted? If you’re free, why are you depressed? Why are you aimless? Why do have to fight your way up the ladder? Why do those one-night stands leave you feeling more and more alone? If you want to be free, serve Jesus. Yes, that means you are His bondservant, but He promises:

John 8:32 – ³² You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

John 15:15 – ¹⁵ I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master, is doing. I have called you friends

Christ is a Master Who does not drain your life, exploit you, and shackle you. He fills your life to overflowing. We’ve never seen, heard, or can conceive of the good He intends to do for us.

He is a kind and generous Master, but He is a Master. He commands you and I to obey His law of love. The royal law, prescribed in Scripture.^[14] Christ has rules and directions, designs and boundaries for our relationships, our choices, our words, our attitudes, our activities, all of life. But when we obey, when we serve Him as Master, then we receive true freedom, true fulfillment.

2 Peter 2:20 – ²⁰ For if, having escaped the world’s impurity through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in these things and defeated, the last state is worse for them than the first.

Peter’s previous life as a fisherman echoes through this passage. When he said “seduce,” he speaks of a lure – bait on a hook. Here, we imagine the fisherman’s nets entangling an unfortunate soul.^[15]

Verses 20 through 22 can cause doctrinal debate or confusion. Is Peter saying that a person can be genuinely saved, but lose their salvation? That is the perspective of some Christians. Our answer to that specific question is no because of many Scriptures, but Peter himself said in his first letter:

1 Peter 1:5 – You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

If a person is truly saved, they are safe. They may have lapses of obedience, leading to terrible consequences and the breaking of God’s heart and the loss of rewards, but no one can snatch them out of Jesus’ hand – including themselves!^[16] So what are we to make of verses 20 through 22?

In verse 20, Peter gives this warning to the false teachers and those who follow them, saying, “If you go this way, the last state is worse than the first.” Why?

For one, they think they’re living the Christian life. These people claimed to be Christian. But if you do not walk the path of righteousness, if you do not obey Jesus, you do not love Him and you do not know Him. Jesus said in John 14, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments!” Very simple. These folks thought they were sailing to heaven, when in reality their destination was hell.

Second, the Bible teaches there will be worse judgment for those who hear the truth and reject it.^[17]

Third, when we choose to harden our hearts toward the Lord, toward His truth, we are always worse off than before.^[18] That much further from God. That much more ensnared by sin. In fact, if we keep hardening our hearts, God allows us to that much more deceived by the lies.^[19]

We can see that the people Peter is talking about were not truly saved. Because, after all, they were defeated by temptation and sin. If you are saved, God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to withstand.^[20] That’s a promise. To be a Christian means to be a person who is led by God in victory – in Christ’s triumphal procession!^[21] Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. If they are ultimately defeated by sin and temptation, it is because they do not have the Spirit of God living in them.

2 Peter 2:21 – ²¹ For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy command delivered to them.

The “holy command” means the whole Christian message, sent from God, delivered through the Scriptures and by the teaching of the apostles. Again, note that we are under a law. It is the law of love, but these are commands. Jesus puts demands on your life. He demands surrender. He demands devotion. He demands obedience.

2 Peter 2:22 – ²² It has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit, and, “A washed sow returns to wallowing in the mud.”

To us, dogs are beloved companions. Not so in this time. They were despised creatures.^[22] Even today, some of you have dogs who eat from the litter box. We see dogs lap up vomit. It’s horrible.

But that’s what was happening on the spiritual level. It wasn’t enlightenment. It was swill. So what are we drinking? Is it swill milk? If so, the result is going to be waste and barrenness and death.

For anyone still worrying that they might, through mistakes or distraction, lose or forfeit their salvation, consider the illustration Peter used. Dogs and pigs were unclean animals. And at the end of the proverb, the dogs were still dogs, the pigs were still pigs. In other words, they may have cleaned off the sow, and put some lipstick on her, but her nature wasn’t changed.^[23] They were never transformed. It doesn’t say the dog became a lamb then turned back into a dog.

We can go back to the examples of Lot and Balaam. Both had issues with greed. But one believed and the other did not. If losing your salvation was possible, Lot would’ve lost his. And yet he is thrice called a righteous man by Peter! Ultimately, he obeyed by faith. That was the difference.

So, how can you be sure you’re a Christian? Well, listen to James:

James 1:25 – ²⁵ But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does.

A hearer and a doer. As you do God’s word, the authenticity of your faith is revealed. That you are a lamb, not a dog.

It’s said that the swill milk manufacturers could literally be smelled a mile away.^[24] It stunk of waste and death. With God’s wisdom and warnings, we should be able to see false teachers a mile away.

Instead of drinking their swill, you and I must drink deep of the living water, feeding on the milk and the meat not of the culture around us, but the word of God. And do you know what happens then? Not only do you and I get to enjoy Christ’s living water, He promises that we will have streams of living water flowing from deep within us!^[25] You and I become spiritual Nathan Strauses, bringing life, saving lives, protecting the weak, the vulnerable, those the false teachers want to prey on. And in living out the Christian life, we will be blessed in what we do.

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References
↑1	Bee Wilson The Swill Is Gone New York Times, September 29, 2008
↑2	E.H. Bartley, W.H. Brewer Distillery-Swill As A Food For Milch-Cows
↑3	https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2025/07/swill-milk-when-distilleries-defiled-dairy/
↑4	https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1858/05/13/78535562.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
↑5	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swill_milk_scandal
↑6	https://bigthink.com/the-past/swill-milk-scandal/
↑7	Richard Menkel Save The Babes: American Public Health Reform And The Prevention Of Infant Mortality
↑8	https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/magazine/the-milk-man/
↑9	Thomas Schreiner The New American Commentary, Volume 37: 1, 2 Peter, Jude
↑10	Douglas Moo The NIV Application Commentary: 2 Peter, Jude
↑11	John 4:10
↑12	Schreiner
↑13	Romans 7:25
↑14	James 2:8
↑15	Moo
↑16	John 10:28
↑17	1 Timothy 1:13, Luke 10:13-16, Luke 12:47-48
↑18	Hebrews 3:15
↑19	2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
↑20	1 Corinthians 10:13
↑21	2 Corinthians 2:14
↑22	Gene Green Jude & 2 Peter
↑23	Dick Lucas & Christopher Green The Message Of 2 Peter & Jude
↑24	https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/magazine/the-milk-man/
↑25	John 7:38

Animal Wrongs (2 Peter 2:10-16)

March 22, 2026

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. This folksy bit of common sense was probably coined by a late 19th century American poet named James Riley.^[1] In the 20th century, it became a repeated warning of the dangers of communism, both domestically and internationally.

Elementary school was full of lessons on how to tell different animals apart. Is it an alligator or a crocodile? Is it a seal or a sea lion? Frog or toad? Tortoise or turtle? Moth or butterfly?

I don’t really want to cross paths with an alligator or a crocodile in the wild. But sometimes we learned what might make a life or death difference between two creatures.

It was at an outdoor field trip of some sort that I learned the famous rhyme, “Red on yellow, kill a fellow. Red on black, venom lack.” It helps you differentiate between coral snakes and king snakes. The colors are the same, the order is different. King snakes are considered harmless, whereas coral snakes have the most potent venom of any snake in North America. Forewarned, forearmed.

Peter has been warning us about the danger of false teachers. How they infiltrate the church. They will infiltrate Christian communities and culture. And their words are deadly venom.

He’s been warning us in a general sense. Now he starts teaching us how to spot the false teachers. And Peter does not pull any punches. Frankly, he says they act like animals. They claim to have deeper understanding of all the most important questions of life. But Peter says, “Look how they waddle. Hear how they quack. These are not great oracles of truth. They are vipers to be avoided.”

We pick up in the middle of verse 10, where Peter begins showing us how to spot them.

2 Peter 2:10b-11 – Bold, arrogant people! They are not afraid to slander the glorious ones; ¹¹ however, angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous charge against them before the Lord.

These verses leave us with a few questions. Who are the “glorious ones” (your version may say “dignitaries” or “celestial beings”)? Who is having a slanderous charge brought against them? Scholars debate the grammar, the context, and the fact that these verses overlap with Jude.

A smaller percentage of commentators think the “glorious ones” refer to church or civil authorities. I tend to think Peter wouldn’t use that title for himself or other human servants of God. The dominant view among scholars is that Peter is referring to angelic beings – either good or bad.

We don’t exactly know what they were saying,^[2] and that’s ok. Often times, the epistles will leave texts like this somewhat broad so that we don’t obsess over the specifics of the situation. The ambiguity is important.^[3] Peter wants us to focus on a principle, not the specific predicament.

So, we aren’t told exactly what these guys were saying, but we can see how they were behaving. They had no respect and no restraint.^[4] They were brash and blasphemous. Peter says they were bold, arrogant people.

But wait: Aren’t Christians supposed to be bold? Didn’t Peter and the other apostles and the Christians in Jerusalem pray for boldness?^[5] They did. But that’s not the boldness Peter is talking about here. In Acts, they prayed that the Lord would empower them to, “speak His word with all boldness.” What Peter is talking about here is arrogance, and headstrong recklessness.^[6] They were self-willed. Their goal was not please God, but pleasing themselves.^[7]

Peter contrasts these false teachers with the angels of heaven. Angels always show a great deal of restraint. Now, think about that for a moment: A heavenly angel has amazing power. They’ve got full access to God Himself. They are supernatural beings that can move between the heavenly realm and the earthly realm. They know so much more than we do about what God is doing. But they are extremely careful about what they say and do. They are not brash or headstrong.

Standing before God, they won’t even bring a slanderous charge against the guilty. Whether the “them” in verse 11 is evil angels or if it’s referring to the false teachers, either way the good angels know they’re guilty. But they know God is in charge and that He is merciful. So, they do not act like Lucifer, who came before God to accuse Job. Jude tells us that Michael the Archangel wouldn’t bring a condemning word against the devil himself. He said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

We would do well to be more careful about the words we speak. James has a lot to say about that in his letter. Jesus Himself said that, “on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak.”^[8] The angels are certainly careful. We should be, too. One way to identify these false teachers was by their rash, brutish, blasphemous speech. Arrogant and irreverent.

We can also know them by the patterns of their personal lives. As always, a tree is known by its fruit.

2 Peter 2:12-13a – ¹² But these people, like irrational animals—creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed—slander what they do not understand, and in their destruction they too will be destroyed. ¹³ They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done.

Peter is not calling them names. He’s exposing how these people were living life on a base level of selfish hedonism. A life of self-indulgence, driven by sinful, human urges. While they were raising themselves up, parading themselves as experts and gurus and keepers of secret truth. In reality, they lived like animals, not driven by morality but by desire.

Animals aren’t moral. Go into the wild and you will find the coral snake does not feel bad about biting you at all. It’s driven by animal instinct. It makes decisions based off natural urges.

When Peter says they are “creatures of instinct,” he uses a word that means “belonging to nature.”^[9] The sin nature. But friends, we’re not meant to belong to the sin nature. We’re meant to enjoy a supernatural relationship to God and man. God raises us up above the cares and the corruption of this world, with our thoughts set on the Spirit^[10] and the Gospel and the work of God in our lives.

The false teachers, living on this base, animal level, would reap what they sowed. They destroyed the lives of others, so they would be destroyed. One of the wonders of the Christian life is that we get to reap what Christ has sowed in us. His life. His word. His peace. His comfort. His grace.

Now, don’t read verse 12 and think that these false teachers were determined to be evil. We read that they were, “Born to be caught and destroyed.” This isn’t teaching that God predestined them for Hell. Because, remember: All of us are born dead in trespasses and sins. All of us are born of the flesh and if we live according to the flesh, we are going to die.^[11] This is not a verse about predestination. It is a reminder of the only prescription that can cure the disease.

Do you want to be set free and saved from destruction? Do you want a life not captive to natural urges but lived on the higher plane of God’s grace? Then you need to be born again. And once you are born again, you no are no longer obligated to the flesh, to live according to the flesh like these false teachers. But instead you have the mind of Christ. The heart of Christ. You walk the way of Christ, not toward destruction, but toward life. How are we born again? Through belief.

2 Peter 213b-14 – They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are spots and blemishes, delighting in their deceptions while they feast with you. ¹⁴ They have eyes full of adultery that never stop looking for sin. They seduce unstable people and have hearts trained in greed. Children under a curse!

Here, Peter lists their mentality and activity. It’s an ugly rap sheet. They slander, they carouse, they deceive, they seduce, they’re full of greed.

Theirs was a habitual lifestyle of sin. Of course, they saw it as one big party. Not just on Saturday night, but during the workday. In fact, not only during the work day, but they were bringing their drunken, self-indulgence into church services, too. As God’s people came together to share a meal and to celebrate communion, here are these guys, scoping every lady as someone they wanted to seduce and looking for all the ways to get more of everything for themselves.

They were trained in greed. We know they wanted people’s money, but the term also refers to a lust for more of everything.^[12] In fact, Peter used a word that referred to athletic training in the gymnasium.^[13] They had chest and arms day, leg day, and greed day.

They never stopped looking for sin. But notice what form that took: It wasn’t just sin in a vacuum. They indulged their appetites by exploiting and devouring the Christians around them. Unstable people were being “seduced.” That’s a term that refers to catching prey with bait.^[14]

This is why back in chapter 1, Peter says, “I’m writing so you can be established in the truth.” He wants us to be firmly anchored in the word of God, in the truth of God, so that we’re not easy prey.

You’ve watched nature shows. Planet Earth. Wild America. When the lions want to grab a gazelle, who do they target? The strong? The alert? No. It’s the weak ones straggling behind the herd.

Getting grounded in the word of God is not just about knowing more things. The Bible explains that this is the way we anchor our lives on Christ so that when the storms come, when the winds blow, when our enemy comes – who is a prowling lion seeking someone to devour – we will be strong. We will be secure. We will not be knocked down and destroyed, but continue growing and thriving in the love of God and the protection of His truth. Being established in the truth shields us and sets us free. It directs us and fortifies our lives.

2 Peter 2:15-16 – ¹⁵ They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path and have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness ¹⁶ but received a rebuke for his lawlessness: A speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

Peter uses an Old Testament character as an example of what these false teachers were doing. Balaam’s story is an interesting one. He pops up more than we realize. He’s referenced in Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Nehemiah, Micah, 2 Peter, Jude, Revelation.

Balaam was this guy who you could pay to do divination. The Moabites wanted to curse the Israelites, so they hired Balaam. God told him, “Don’t take the job,” but Balaam really wanted the money. He ended up going. On the way, an angel of the Lord stood in the path to kill him. But the donkey he was riding could see the angel, and she turned away to try to help Balaam. He got really angry, started beating the donkey, and the Lord miraculously opened the donkeys mouth and allowed her to say, “Why are you beating me? I’m trying to save you!”

Now Balaam still doesn’t get the hint, he wants the money, so he tries to curse Israel. But every time he opens his mouth, God makes a blessing come out instead. Remember: the Lord knows how to rescue the Godly from their troubles.

After all that, Balaam is still greedy for the money. So he tells the Moabites, “Look, I can’t curse them. But we might be able to convince them to commit sin themselves, which will bring God’s judgment on them.”^[15] And that’s exactly what happens.

Balaam kept following this path of sin and greed, and in the end he was destroyed. Along the way, God kept giving him a chance to turn back. Pitstops of mercy and choice. It was like God put all these signs in which said, “Dead end. Not a through road.” The same is true for any sinner today. God doesn’t want you to perish, but for you to repent. To turn around and walk on the straight path – the path of righteousness. It’s madness to continue on a road you know ends in death.

But you have to choose whether you’re going to walk in the light or stay in the dark. Sadly, many people love darkness rather than light. But as Peter is so quick to remind us: The end of the path of unrighteousness is death. Destruction. Judgment. Hell.

These false teachers seemed like they were having a good time. They were telling people that they knew more than angels, more than apostles. In reality, they lived like animals. They were spots and blemishes in the church of God.

In the last chapter, Peter is going to bring that image back when he tells us to not be led away by these false teachers and to make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in Christ’s sight. How? By walking with Him, not them. By making progress on the path of righteousness. By not living an animal life of sin, but the Christian life of purity, grace, power, and truth. Looking at my life in the mirror, is there any spot cleaning I need to do?

Peter’s warning is that there are Balaam’s out there who want to bring curse and ruin into our lives. God knows and is keeping an account. He will deal with them for the harm they cause. But our part is to watch out for their venom. Now, we should be aware but we don’t need to be afraid. Consider the example of Balaam: Balaam couldn’t do anything to Israel, no matter how hard he tried! The trouble only came when they decided to follow his advice. That’s when ruin came.

In the mean time, we’re not donkeys with human words. We’re sheep with the Lord’s word on our lips. We can not only keep ourselves from being seduced by the lies of the false teachers, but we can warn others of the coming judgment. And we can warn those false teachers themselves when we run into them. God extended mercy to Balaam. He didn’t take it, but he could have. God has mercy for you and me and those around us today. Keep to the path of mercy, the path of righteousness. It is the path that leads to life, to glory, to all we need to enjoy the supernatural plans God has for us.

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References
↑1	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_test
↑2	Edwin Blum The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 12: Hebrews Through Revelation
↑3	Douglas Moo The NIV Application Commentary: 2 Peter, Jude
↑4	Blum
↑5	Acts 4:29
↑6	Richard Bauckham Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 50: Jude, 2 Peter
↑7	D. Edmond Hiebert Second Peter And Jude
↑8	Matthew 12:36
↑9	John Walvoord and Roy Zuck The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures
↑10	Romans 8:5
↑11	Romans 8:12-13
↑12	Moo
↑13	Blum
↑14	Hiebert
↑15	Numbers 31:16, Revelation 2:14

Wait For One Another

March 22, 2026

From time to time we are taking a look together at the “one another” commands in Bible. It’s been a little while, but we’re back at it this morning.

There are about 60 “one another” commands, given to Christians so we can know how to properly relate to each other in the church and so we can be built up, others can be built up, and our church can thrive in the love of God.

So far, we’ve been reminded to greet one another, encourage one another, sing to one another, pray for one another, honor one another, be kind and compassionate to one another, and to use our gifts to serve one another.

What’s great about all of these is that they’re straightforward. These are all practical things, each within reach – very doable – as we set our hearts on obeying what God has asked us to do.

Today’s command is just as practical and just as doable. Paul gives it to us in 1 Corinthians 11:

1 Corinthians 11:33 – So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.

In the moment, Paul was speaking to them about proper behavior at what was known as the “agape feast.” In Corinth, the Christians would gather together and before they took communion they would share a meal. People would bring food from home and the idea was that they would all share together one, big, family meal. Now, the church in Corinth was having some trouble with sharing – some of the wealthy members were just gorging themselves while the hungry members had nothing. So, Paul wanted to be sure they understood what was proper Christian conduct.

But as part of his instruction, Paul said, “wait for one another.” It means not seeing our gatherings as just about what we need, but that we’re gathered together as a family of Christians before the Lord.

When we wait for one another in common courtesy, it’s a way of us welcoming each other and joining together. It’s a way for us to show others and remind ourselves that they weren’t just sitting together in the same room, but that as Christians we should be concerned for the spiritual and physical well-being of those around us. We’re not just in the same location, we’re here together and as we wait for one another as we go into the cafe, as we walk through the courtyard, or wherever we might be, it helps us become a community that is better connected because we’re being more mindful of those who are with us. It helps us not overlook those who might be struggling, who might need something, who might not be sure exactly what to do in a given moment. Waiting for one another as Paul depicts it here reminds us that we’re siblings at the family table, not just consumers in line at Chipotle. So, today, let’s see if we can find ways to wait for one another and be built up together as God continues to grow His fruit in us.

There’s No Self-Rely In Team (Mark 10:17-22)

March 18, 2026

If you were a college football coach in 1982, you wanted Marcus Dupree on your team. He was the “best player on the field.”^[1] He broke Herschel Walker’s high school record for most touchdowns. Some said that he was ready for the NFL at age 18.

Naturally, big name universities did all they could to get him. During the final month of recruiting, Marcus’ high school coach was receiving 100 phone calls a day from scouts. One school offered him an oil well. Another $250,000 a year.^[2] That’s 1980’s dollars.

Marcus verbally committed to Texas, but at the 11th hour, signed with Oklahoma. He had a great freshman season. But it didn’t last. His sophomore year revealed his utter lack of discipline. He was often late, missed events, packed on the pounds. Not what you want in a running back.

He suddenly announced he was transferring to Southern Mississippi. He assumed he could play wherever he wanted. But he wasn’t the one making the rules. The NCAA told him he would have to sit out the rest of his sophomore season and his junior season. So he quit college altogether.^[3]

Our text shows us a power player who came to Jesus ready to be recruited for the Kingdom. He had promise and prestige, wealth and position and influence. If they could get this guy on the team, well, who knows what kind of yardage they could gain! He would be their star player.

We can only imagine the shock when Jesus let the guy go. The astonishment was compounded when Jesus used the case study of this individual to then teach all His disciples just how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God and how dangerous it is to have earthly wealth.

Jesus’ interaction with this man and then with the disciples afterward are one unit, but we’re going to take this scene in two parts. Tonight, we want to take a look at the case study which establishes the principle. And then, next time we’re in Mark, we’ll apply the case study to ourselves as disciples. Both parts challenge our assumptions, so we want to take this text seriously and listen carefully.

Mark 10:17 – ¹⁷ As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

We know this guy as “the Rich Young Ruler.” My Bible even calls him that in the heading, despite the fact that Mark neither describes him as young or a ruler. So where does that name come from?

Well, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell this story. All say he has many possessions. It probably referred to owning many estates.^[4] In Matthew we’re told he’s young – a word meaning a man under forty.^[5] And finally, in Luke we’re told he’s a ruler. This could mean he was a magistrate or official. Jairus is called the “ruler” of the synagogue in Luke 8. Nicodemus is called a ruler of the Jews in John 3. It’s also a term for other civil authorities. So, taken together, this fellow is a rich, young ruler.

His entrance on the scene looks really good. He hears that Jesus is headed out of town and he literally runs to find Him and, when he does, he bows at Jesus’ feet. It wasn’t customary to kneel to a rabbi.^[6] Clearly, he had real respect for Jesus. Thus far, this guy’s interview is going really well!

But image isn’t everything. The rich young ruler’s heart problems start to show as soon as he opens his mouth. The first problem can be diagnosed by the title he gives Jesus. He calls Him “Good teacher.” That’s not a bad name, but it’s totally insufficient. What didn’t he call Jesus? He didn’t call Him Lord, as the Centurion had. He didn’t call him Master, as Simon had. He didn’t call Him Son of David, as the Canaanite woman had. He didn’t call Him a prophet or Messiah or the Son of Man. He’s “Good Teacher.”

You see, the Rich Young Ruler really only thinks he needs a teacher, not a Savior. He thought himself to be good enough to be drafted into heaven. He’s looking for recognition not redemption. He wants Jesus to give him a grade, not emancipation.

He heard that this rabbi from Nazareth had a novel and provocative way of applying God’s Law – that Jesus had a way of understanding and explaining and applying God’s Law unlike anything anyone had ever heard. And so, the rich young ruler comes to speak with Jesus because he wants to make sure he’s got all his bases covered – all his boxes checked.

And that’s the second problem we can see in the man’s question. He did not come asking the Lord to save him. He said, “What do I do to merit a place in the Kingdom?”

But understand: None of us are justified by works. You cannot perform your way into heaven. We can only be justified by faith alone through grace alone. Read Romans 4. Read Galatians 2. It is only through the blood of Christ, shed for us. There is nothing we can do to inherit eternal life the way this young man is talking about. Kingdom access is only, always a gift received by faith.

Mark 10:18 – ¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone.

Jesus is not denying His deity. He wants to cut through the man’s reasoning, his self-righteousness, his merit-based ideas for salvation and get to the truth. As a student of the Torah, this man should agree that only God is good. So Jesus holds his philosophy to the fire. “Are you calling Me God?” Remember what the theme of this whole book is: Who do we say that Jesus is? Because if Jesus is God, this is no longer a question of interpretation, but a matter of revelation.

If Jesus is God, then anything He asks of us must be right and it must be done. If you were on the street and a stranger came up to you and said, “I need you to go in that building,” we probably wouldn’t obey immediately. At very least, we’d be skeptical. We’d ask questions. We’d decide whether we agree. But if we recognize that person as having authority, our response changes. If a policeman walks up to us and says the same thing, we might still have questions, but we’d probably submit to their authority. If our boss walked up to us and said it, we’d also probably up and go. If our loving and caring father asked us, we’d go without question. Who is speaking to us?

If Jesus is God, then His words are not only interesting, they are authoritative. And if Jesus is God and if God is good – which He is – then the things He commands us are not only essential, they are also good, because He is good. All His commands are good. All His ways are good.

We understand this philosophically, but we need to apply it functionally. Jesus gives us commands. He lays serious requirements on us. He gives us boundaries and demands we not cross the lines He has drawn. In our humanity, we don’t always agree with Him. We’re convinced it would be fine if we crossed some of those lines. But Who do we say that Jesus is? If He is God, then not only must we believe His word and obey it, but we can be sure His directions and mandates are good.

Mark 10:19-20 – ¹⁹ You know the commandments: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.”

²⁰ He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth.”

The man was totally confident in his self-righteousness. He says, “I’ve been perfect since before my Bar-Mitzvah!” Of course, he can only evaluate using his own standard. He’s his own judge.

He was interested in Jesus, but obviously he had not done much listening to Jesus. Because one of the things Jesus revealed was that heaven’s standard for keeping these commands is much higher than our own. If you’ve hated someone in your heart, you’re guilty of murder. If you looked lustfully at a woman, you’ve already committed adultery.^[7] Now, God doesn’t tell us that so that we say, “Well, what are you gonna do?” He says it to reveal just how ruined by sin we are and just how holy He is. That there is none righteous, no not one. Not us, not the rich young ruler, no one.

Meanwhile, this guy essentially says he has no sin. Listen, if we say we have no sin, we’re liars. This guy thinks he’s proved that God owes him a place in the Kingdom. But that’s never how it works.

Mark 10:21-22 – ²¹ Looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” ²² But he was dismayed by this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.

Jesus truly loved this guy – even though the guy didn’t love Jesus back! Here’s the man, thinking that he is his own savior. He didn’t come in worship. He didn’t come with affection. He didn’t come with humility. Respect, yes, but mingled with the respect was total self-dependence. And even still, the Lord opened the door to the Kingdom to this man. He gave him the answer he sought!

Jesus really loved him. He really wanted the rich young ruler to walk through the Door, into the Kingdom and become a disciple.

After all, where did this man find Jesus? Jesus is on a journey to pay the price for this man’s sin, even though the man thought he could pay it himself, or that he didn’t owe any debt at all! Jesus was trying to elevate this man. In Matthew, He says, “If you want to be perfect, go do these things.”^[8]

What did Jesus tell him to do? We focus on the financial, but let’s not forget the following. Go and give, come and follow. It wasn’t only about emptying his bank account. He needed to become a disciple from that day forward. Spirituality is never about box-checking. It’s about following in faith.

When the man got his answer, what happened? He was dismayed. It’s a term used in Matthew for a storm forming in the sky.^[9] After hearing this command, the man gets up from his kneeling, because despite what it looked like, he wasn’t really bowing in obedience to a King. He wanted validation.

Jesus gave him an amazing revelation: All those things he had were in reality a lack. Jesus said, “You lack this. You’re missing the freedom of not being possessed by your possessions.”

Now, this is where things usually get either overly bland or overly spicy. On the bland side, teachers and commentators rush to tell us all that this is not a universal command. That it was only for this guy. The following verses undercut that idea. And this man is a living, breathing proof of what Jesus taught back in Mark 4 in the parable of the soils – how the deceitfulness of wealth will choke out the word and make a life unfruitful. He is a case study of spiritual truths that apply to us. The call of Christ is demanding. We must sacrifice. We must forsake all other idols and surrender to the Lord.

On the spicy side, those teachers who are a little more enamored with asceticism will rush to say that obviously this is a demand for every Christian to empty their savings and give it all away. That penniless Christianity is in and of itself, better Christianity.

The problem with that is not only the rest of the Bible, but even the rest of this story. Next time we’ll see that it’s not just hard for a rich person to get into heaven, it’s hard for anyone to get into heaven. But also consider the rest of the Bible: We see righteous rich. We see ungodly poor. Peter would later tell Ananias and Sapphira that they did not have to sell their land and give it to the church, but that the money was theirs to do with as they pleased.^[10] One commentator deftly notes: “If possessions are evil in and of themselves, why would they be given to the poor?”^[11]

But that does not mean we’re off the hook. One scholar writes, “That Jesus did not command all his followers to sell all their possessions gives comfort only to the kind of people to whom he would issue that command.”^[12] Jesus Himself said plainly, “You cannot serve both God and money.”^[13]

The reality is, it’s very easy to be the rich young ruler in American Christianity. Statistically speaking, we are not a wonderfully sacrificial people. Our whole culture is set up for selfishness, not sacrifice.

The next time we’re in Mark, we will navigate how to apply the case study to ourselves. We will find that wealth is an obstacle to living faith. Why? Because it is so helpful. Because it is so luxurious. Because it seems to open earthly doors to us and solve earthly problems for us and give us security and fills our lives with so many other things. But that’s the problem. It entices us to rely on it rather than on the Lord. It naturally starts to possess us, rather than the other way around. The rich young ruler is a real, living, breathing case study of how wealth is, by its nature, deceitful and naturally chokes out the growth of spiritual fruit if we’re not careful. That doesn’t mean Christians can’t be affluent. But we should be keenly aware of the dangers, take them seriously, and respond accordingly because of how strongly Jesus warns His disciples in the very next passage. We shouldn’t assume that we’re not the rich young ruler in the story.

Remember: Discipleship means that Jesus Christ is not just a good Teacher. He is your Master. And He is the Master of all your life. You see, the Rich Young Ruler was willing to indulge some of Jesus’ teachings, but he would not open his bank book to Him. He was not interested in becoming a disciple. He assumed his works and his wealth were enough for him to be deputized as a “good” man – as a dignified prince in the Kingdom. But we see his lack. We see the failure to surrender. He may have bowed his knee, but his heart would not confess, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” We must do both. A heart that understands Who Jesus is and a life submitted to Him, even when He asks something difficult of us. Jesus will ask hard things of you. If you’ve never done something hard for the Lord, it might not be because He hasn’t asked, but because you’ve turned away from that command.

Marcus Dupree has been called, “The best that never was.”^[14] Think of what the rich young ruler missed out on. What could have been his life. Sure, he went home to his estates. I’m sure they were nice, though none of us would want to live there today. It wasn’t about doing things to be part of God’s powerful work. It was about following the Lord, knowing He must save us from our sin, from our weakness, from our misunderstanding of the truth. The road is narrow, but the door is open. We can go forward, overjoyed, lacking nothing thanks to all the Lord does for us. He demands obedience, but what He offers is altogether good. If we take the road with Him, He leads us through the Door into the greatness and glory of His eternal Kingdom. Come and follow.

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References
↑1	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Dupree
↑2	https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/13727576
↑3	https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/01/sports/marcus-dupree-quits-college-future-unclear-dupree-is-leaving.html
↑4	James Brooks The New American Commentary, Volume 23: Mark
↑5	James Strong A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
↑6	Clifton Allen Matthew-Mark
↑7	Matthew 5:21-30
↑8	Matthew 19:21
↑9	Archibald Robertson Word Pictures In The New Testament
↑10	Acts 5:4
↑11	Robert Utley The Gospel According To Peter: Mark And I & II Peter
↑12	R. H. Gundry Matthew
↑13	Luke 16:13
↑14	https://msfame.com/inductees/marcus-dupree/

Door-To-Door Savior (Revelation 3:7-13)

March 15, 2026

“Jesus talked about money more than any other topic.”

I’ve heard that statement, or something similar, dozens of times over the years. It gained popularity because many of Jesus’ parables do involve money or possessions. Consequently, preachers started repeating statistics like “one-third of Jesus’ parables are about money.” Gradually this observation evolved into the much broader claim that Jesus discussed money more than anything.

He did not. Money appears in many of His parables as an illustration, not as the topic.

What did Jesus talk about more than anything else?

The Kingdom of God.

Jesus’ public ministry was announced by John the Baptist. “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’ ”^[1]

After John was imprisoned, Jesus “began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’ ”^[2]

“Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”^[3]

When Jesus sent out His disciples, His instruction was, “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’^[4]

His two longest discourses were 100% about the Kingdom:

The Sermon on the Mount^[5] is saturated with references to the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus repeatedly frames His teaching as describing who belongs in the Kingdom and what life in that Kingdom looks like.
The Olivet Discourse^[6] describes the events that lead to the Kingdom and the moment it is inaugurated.

Philip’s evangelistic preaching in Samaria is explicitly described as Kingdom preaching: “But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.”^[7]

The final verse of Acts reads, “Preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence.”^[8]

In the Revelation we see the consummation: “The Kingdoms of this world have become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”^[9]

The current best estimate is that Jesus spoke of the Kingdom 27% – 30% of the time. That is about on pace with the entire Bible.

Michael Vlach is Professor of Theology at Shepherds Theological Seminary in Cary, NC. He writes, “The Bible’s storyline shows how the Kingdom created goes to the Kingdom fallen, which then leads to the Kingdom restored. This storyline is centered and anchored in Jesus the Messiah.”

Jesus’ letter to the Philadelphians is like a commentary on, “Thy Kingdom Come.”

Rev 3:7 To the angel [pastor] of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

“Him who is holy and true” is used in one other place in the Revelation as a name for “the Sovereign Lord” who will rule Earth.^[10]

“The Key of David” represents the promise of the Kingdom. God promised David and Israel that the Messiah would come from the line of David and the tribe of Judah, and that He would establish a Kingdom that would endure forever. Theologians call these promises the Davidic Covenant.

Alva J. McLain wrote, “The Kingdom promised to David is a real, earthly rule of the Messiah. It is not a mere spiritual sovereignty in the hearts of men, but a government established upon the Earth.”

The Kingdom Jesus inherits from David is not poetic language. It is a physical throne, a real kingdom, and a reigning King.

The covenant is also unconditional. Even if He wanted to, God cannot abandon Israel for her disobedience.

“Open doors” describes the entire age between Jesus’ Ascension to Heaven and His Second Coming. Our responsibility is to recognize the doors of service He opens and walk through them.

The ancient city of Philadelphia was perfect for discussing open doors. Five major roads met there, making it a gateway from the west into Asia and beyond. Rome used it as a missionary city to spread Greek culture throughout the world.

The world is still exporting its beliefs today. How many cases are there where children are being mutilated without the knowledge, and therefore permission, of the parents? How about we concentrate on getting their math scores up!

Rev 3:8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

These open doors represent opportunities to take the Gospel to the world as we fulfill the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”

Where to go, what to do, and what to say, are all part of seeking the doors Jesus opens. We want to follow Him through those doors.

That doesn’t mean we are passive. The apostle Paul didn’t always wait for doors to open. In Acts he pressed forward into places the Lord had not opened.

Sometimes you have to try doors. They may open. They may not.

Another thing about doors. Jesus opens them for us. He doesn’t just point them out and tell us to go in. We have no strength to open spiritual doors. Even though a door may be yours, or mine, we can attempt to open it ourselves, in our own energy.

They had discovered, and were going through, the open doors of ministry.

Philadelphia’s unique situation as a city called for a unique strategy of ministry. How do you best share the Gospel in a hub city like this? How would it be different than other cities?

“For you have little strength.”

We hear “little strength” and immediately think that the Church was small in number, with very limited resources. That was probably true. Jesus doesn’t quantify the way we do. He still works with five loaves and two fishes, if that is all we have; or with a widow’s mite, if that is what we give.
“Little strength” can also mean a proper humility in understanding that it’s not by might, nor by power, that we are to minister; but by the Holy Spirit.

Think of “little strength” as a desirable character trait. In answer to his prayer to be relieved of what he called “a thorn in his flesh, Jesus told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” To which Paul surrendered and submitted, observing, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Missionary Hudson Taylor once said, “God is looking for people weak enough to use.”

May it be our prayer that we always extol “little strength” – even if or when blessed with abundant resources. We want to be Little Strength Chapel of Hanford.

Jesus commended them, saying, “[you] have kept My Word.” They applied the standards and morals of the Bible. They were convinced that everything they needed to live a godly life was there on the pages of God’s word.

It is common today for Christians and churches to want to supplement God’s Word with something that seems helpful from the world. But in doing so you declare the insufficiency of God’s Word.

Let’s understand sufficiency & insufficiency. A moment ago I said that everything you need to live a godly life has been given to you. You have the God-breathed Word, and you have something more. Or I should say, Someone more. When you believed you received the in-dwelling presence of God the Holy Spirit.

If you are having marital issues, instruction in the Word is plentiful. God the Holy Spirit, in-dwelling you, enables you to obey God. We say that His Word is His enabling. You ought to be able to solve any of your difficulties instantaneously. If not, it isn’t that you need a supplemental source of truth or wisdom. It’s that you need to continue to seek God.

Jesus commended them by saying, ‘[you] have not denied My Name.” This alerts us that they were being persecuted; that they were being pressured to deny Jesus Christ. They would not deny their Lord – no matter the cost.

These believers with little strength did big living for the Lord.

One quick observation. Jesus specifically says He had opened a door, not doors. It could be He was addressing a specific thing He had called them to in Philadelphia.

The door is the opportunity to share and spread the Gospel to unbelievers. We popularly expand the door to include other aspects of our walk with Jesus. We talk about God opening or closing doors of employment, where we go to school, church, etc. There’s nothing wrong with using the analogy as long as we keep our hearts set on serving the Lord and being in the place where He can best use us to reveal His love and grace to others.

At least some of the persecution was coming from the folks in verse nine:

Rev 3:9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars – I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.

Since they claim to be Jews but are not, this may refer to Gentiles who think they’ve replaced Israel. Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, interpret the 144,000 in Revelation as their own members rather than ethnic Jews.
It could also echo Jesus’ words to self-righteous Jews, calling them spiritually of their father, the devil. Either way, they were the main persecutors of the believers in Philadelphia.

It was common in oriental culture to bow low, even to lay down, before a dignitary. It’s not worship.

Rev 3:10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

Let’s ask & answer two simple questions:

What is “the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world?” The only possible time that qualifies as a specific, future, set period of trouble coming upon the whole world is the seven-year Great Tribulation period.
Does it say that the Lord will keep you safe in or through “the hour of trial,” or keep you from it? The Philadelphians were promised they would be “[kept] from the hour of trial.” The Church must be off earth before it starts.The only way that can happen, biblically, is by the pre-Tribulation resurrection & rapture of the Church!

Jesus distinguishes the Church from “the inhabitants of the Earth.” Thus one group is on Earth… And one is not on Earth!

Rev 3:11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

The “crown” is the victor’s wreath. A number of crowns are mentioned in the Bible, and there are probably a lot that aren’t. It represents your rewards.

Today we would say, “Hang on to your hats!” Spiritual winds of persecution, false teaching, temptation, can try to steal what’s promised. It’s a mix of encouragement and warning: stay faithful now, so you receive the ultimate reward later.

Rev 3:12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of Heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.

Ancient Philadelphia sat in an active earthquake zone and was repeatedly shaken, most famously by a 17AD earthquake, leaving many buildings collapsed.

Residents fled into the streets until the shaking ceased. Looking back to the city, out of the rubble of buildings the pillars were still standing. God uses a fact from their history to predict their strength and security.

Regarding all the writing of names, this reflects cultural habits. Consider the cultural norms we have. Normally a wife assumes her husband’s name and resides in his household. She files a change of address, gets a new driver’s license.

We are the unique Bride of Jesus. We take His name. It is part of His romance of redemption.

Rev 3:13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Check this out. A person who opens doors is a ???

A doorman opens the door, carries the baggage, gives directions, and watches over the entrance.

Jesus does all of this spiritually. He opens the door to salvation, carries our burdens, directs our steps, and keeps us secure.

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References
↑1	Matthew 3:1-2
↑2	Matthew 4:17
↑3	Matthew 9:35
↑4	Matthew 10:7
↑5	Matthew 5-7
↑6	Matthew 24-25
↑7	Acts 8:12
↑8	Acts 28:31
↑9	Revelation 11:15
↑10	Revelation 6:10

Prophecy Update #836 – Elam’s Comin’

March 15, 2026

Let’s talk about Iran.

It’s ancient biblical name was Persia. Its southwestern region is Elam. For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to all of Persia, Iran, and Elam as Iran.

If you’re even a little familiar with Bible prophecy, you know Scripture predicts that in the last days a coalition of nations will invade Israel. Iran is specifically listed among them.^[1]

A less discussed prophecy can be found in the Book of Jeremiah.

Jer 49:34 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

Jer 49:35 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, The foremost of their might.

Jer 49:36 Against Elam I will bring the four winds From the four quarters of Heaven, And scatter them toward all those winds; There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.

Jer 49:37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies And before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, My fierce anger,’ says the LORD; ‘And I will send the sword after them Until I have consumed them.

Jer 49:38 I will set My throne in Elam, And will destroy from there the king and the princes,’ says the LORD.

Jer 49:39 ‘But it shall come to pass in the latter days: I will bring back the captives of Elam,’ says the LORD.”

We are not saying that the current state of affairs in Iran fulfills the prophecy of Jeremiah. It may be the fulfillment of prophecy; it may not.

It should excite you nonetheless that the things the Bible said would be taking place in the future are taking place.

Jeremiah predicted at least 4 things: Iran’s military collapse, a global dispersion of its people, a political overthrow, and a restoration.

Would it be accurate to say that Iran’s military has collapsed? Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine was quoted, “Iran has no air defense system, no air force, no navy. Missiles, missile launchers, and drones are all being destroyed or shot down.”
After the 1979 revolution, there began a great diaspora of Iranians from their homeland as they fled the rule of the Ayatollahs. It has continued since then. More than 4mil Iranians are living in over than 100 countries.
As for political overthrow, there has been plenty of that of late. A March 4 article stated, “Over the weekend, the United States and Israel pulled off one of the most operationally impressive military campaigns in recent memory. In the span of 48 hours, they killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and decapitated much of the country’s political and military leadership.”

What about the restoration Jeremiah predicts? Seems far-fetched to talk about restoration, but the current overall plan for the Middle East is to rebuild for prosperity. As well, Jeremiah could be looking further still – to the Kingdom of God on Earth, when many nations will be restored.

Let me emphasize: We are not saying that these prophecies of Jeremiah are being fulfilled.

We are suggesting that the stage is being set for the return of Jesus.

Global government, a global economy featuring some kind of mark necessary to participate, instantaneous communication, the exponential increase in human knowledge, and the falling away of believers from faith in Jesus are all rapidly readying for the Great Tribulation to begin.

We will not be here for any part of the Great Tribulation. We will be raptured and resurrected from the dead, taken home to be with the Lord.

Are you ready for the rapture?

If not, get ready, stay ready and keep looking up because ready or not…

Jesus is coming!

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References
↑1	Ezekiel 38-39

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