2 Peter 2:1-3 - “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.  They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  In their greed, these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.  Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.”

One of the most serious problems for God’s people in the Old Testament was the influence of false prophets, who misguided the entire nation (see the disturbing passages in 1 Kings 18:18-40; 1 Kings 22:6-23; Nehemiah 6:14; Isaiah 28:7, 44:25; Jeremiah 14:14; 23:32-34; 28:1-2; Lamentations 2:14; Ezekiel 13:1-9; Hosea 4:5; Micah 2:6, 3:5-11; Zephaniah 3:4; and Zechariah 13:2).  They spoke in the name of the Lord, but their words were not really from God Himself.  In many cases, the source of the problem was their financial arrangement – they received money or gifts in exchange for prophesying, so they naturally had to tell people what they wanted to hear in order to get more business.  They were a major contributing factor in the apostasy of Israel.  God rejected His own chosen people as a result.     continue

2 Peter 3:9 – “…The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance…”

We live in the end of time.  Believers in past centuries looked forward to this time, and many wished it would come sooner.  The Bible, however, tells us of a series of signs or prophetic events that occur before the End.  All these signs have already happened.  The fulfillment has already come.   We are now waiting for the Lord to return any day.  There is nothing else left that must occur first or that must happen before He comes.  We are at the End.  The “promise” to which Peter refers is the promise that Jesus will come to Rapture the faithful church.

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