The General Epistles - Part 14

Well, good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Bible study. We're in 2 Peter 3 and verse 1.

In some ways, this is a very, very important Bible study here this evening, and you'll find out as we go along. So in 2 Peter 3, verse 1, 1, This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you, in both which I stir your pure minds by way of remembrance. So he had written to them once, we read verse 1 in 1 Peter 1, verse 1, that these people were new in the faith, they were in Asia Minor, and Peter's writing them to remember what he had told them in the past, and he has some new information for them as well.

But you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets. So we need to be mindful of the words spoken by the holy prophets, and not jump to conclusions too soon, as we shall see here this evening, and of the commandment of us, the apostles, of the Lord and Savior. Knowing this verse, that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts. And what shall these scoffers be saying? These scoffers will be saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as from the beginning of the creation. So we have more and more godliness I should have said that we have less and less godliness throughout the whole world at this present time. There are people even in China and other places of the world who profess to be Christians, who don't know the truth like you do, who are giving their lives for the faith once delivered as they understand the faith. So we're living in an age in which we is not even really describable in our vocabulary. There is so much evil going on in the world that we can hardly imagine what is happening. So since the beginning of the creation and fathers fell asleep, some people are saying, oh we tell you this is not going to happen. It's just a fairy tale. Jesus Christ is not going to return to this earth. The response to that is verse 5.

So of course the flood came in Noah's day and destroyed the world that was, as we shall see. Whereby the world that then was being overflowed with water perished. So that world was perished and life was saved in the ark. Now verse 7. But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word, are kept in store. See, that world was destroyed in the sense of all the works of humankind were destroyed in the flood. And in like manner, all the works that are in the world today will be destroyed. As we shall see, the earth itself will not be burned up. As it says in Ecclesiastes 1 and verse 4, the earth abides forever. Mark that down. Read it clearly. Ecclesiastes 1, 4, the earth abides forever. The physical part of the earth. We'll get into that in a deeper sense in a few minutes.

So, but the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word, are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Well, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. Now, a lot of people have tried to make that into some kind of format to predict the end of the age, saying there's six thousand years for man and a thousand years for the millennium and for God and Christ's reign over the earth. But that is not the case. What Peter is showing here is merely, and you could say merely or fantastically, he is showing that God doesn't view time the way we do. He doesn't mark time the same way that we do. We think a hundred years is a long period of time. Well, a hundred years is hardly a blink in the eyes of God. So, a thousand years is a day and a day is a thousand years. So, it's just showing that God does not view time and mark time in the same way that we do. It has nothing to do with a plan of six thousand years for man and a thousand years for God's reign over the earth.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise. In other words, God is going to keep His word, regardless of what we say. He is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is long suffering to us worth, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Of course, this verse here would greatly go against what the Presbyterians teach, that there's a certain number that are marked to be saved and a certain number that are marked to be lost eternally. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And God would not be fair. He would be a respecter of persons if He did not keep His word with regard to this promise. In Scripture, it says very clearly that God is not a respecter of persons, so He is going to keep His word. Now verse 10. But the day of the Lord, the day of the Lord, is when God directly intervenes into the affairs of earth. In other words, the natural order of things will be upset by the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord is a coming expression in the Old Testament. It also appears in the New Testament. We'll see that when the sixth seal is open, it will turn to Revelation chapter 6 at the present time. And Revelation chapter 6 will give us some insight into what's going to be happening a little later in 2 Peter chapter 3.

So in Revelation chapter 6 and verse 12, There appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head, this is chapter 12, I'm sorry.

Now chapter 6 and verse 12. Chapter 6 and verse 12. And there appeared, and I'm back at that, chapter 6 and verse 12.

Very interesting scripture here. Revelation 6 and verse 12. And I beheld then he had opened when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of air, and the moon became as blood, and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth. So the natural order of things is upset. The sun becomes black. And the moon becomes as blood.

Of course, the moon is merely reflecting the light of the sun, and the stars of heaven fall unto the earth. Well, the smallest star is larger than the earth. Now, here's something that you really need to grasp, that much of Revelation and other parts of the Bible as well are figurative. That is, metaphoric or figurative language. The stars of heaven, in Revelation chapter 1, you'll notice that the the angels, that the stars represent angels. And we know that the fallen angels represent demons. So the stars of heaven fell unto the earth. So if one star were to literally fall to the earth, it would crush the the earth. I think the smallest star is larger than the earth. So it must be speaking figuratively that the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and they will fall and cast down to the earth.

Even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind, and the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together. You can just see the the heavens parting, and every mountain and island were moved out of their place. So once again, the natural order of things is shaken, and the cosmos is rearranged in that sense. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. Why? Why did they hide themselves? Well, the next verse gives us insight. And said to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face, hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. So they were looking up into the face of God as the heavens departed as a scroll. And what did they see in that space that was vacated? They saw the face of God. In verse 17, For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? Well, only the righteous that are in favor with God will be able to stand at that time. So why did we go there? We went there to show that there is figurative language, metaphoric language, in the Bible. There are several figures of speech. A man by the name of Bullinger has written a book even on it, the figures of speech, in the Bible. You can call them figures of speech, or you can call them metaphors, whichever one. But they're not literal events, but they represent events that are taking place.

So these elements... So let's read verse 10 once again in the elements. And the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Now we've read from 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 1 and 2 and 3 about Jesus Christ coming again, that we should not be ignorant for the day of the Lord. It's going to come, and it will catch the world as a thief in the night, but it should not catch us as a thief in the night. We should be prepared. We should be watching. We should be sober. We should be vigilant. So the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, and the heavens shall pass away with great noise. Now the heavens are not going to totally pass away in the sense of there not being any heavens anymore, because that's where God's throne is in the third heaven. And even if the heavens were to pass away, even God Himself. So it is figurative, metaphoric language that the powers that be will be shaken, and they will be cast down. The stars will be cast down as we read from Revelation chapter 6 verse 12, "...which the heavens shall pass away with great noise, and all the elements shall melt with fervent heat." Now the elements is what we want to focus on. What are the elements?

There are two books in the Bible that talk about the elements. They are in Paul's epistles and Galatians, which he talks about the weak and beggarly elements. How have you, Galatians, returned to the weak and beggarly elements? And a lot of the commentators lump the weak and beggarly elements with the immutable spiritual law of God, which we will talk about in just a moment.

So they will melt away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Now the works that are therein shall be burned up. Now the noted commentator, and there is so much here, I gave a sermon and wrote an article on this some time ago, but right now I want to read what the commentator wrote regarding this. Barnes, the word rendered burned up, like the word just before it, used burn with fervent heat as a word of the same origin, but here intensively it means they will undergo such a change that will produce not necessarily that matter composing of them will be annihilated. If the matter composing the earth is ever to be destroyed entirely, it must be at the hands of God, the immediate power of God, because only He who created matter can destroy it. You remember the old adage, matter can either be created or destroyed by human beings.

There is not the least evidence that a particle of matter originally made has been annihilated since the world began, and there are no fires so intense, no chemical power so mighty as to cause a particle of matter to cease to exist.

A lot of the language is, of course, figured here, and it's at times hard for us to wrap our heads around it. So I'm going to go ahead and treat this matter of elementals here, and as we read the rest of this, it will perhaps make a lot more sense to you. And we have to go back and get the background to this, and as I said, I have written an article on this, and I have also given a sermon on it. Commentators have long debated this specific problem that Paul addresses in his epistle to the Galatians. Most commentators agree that this specific problem centers on some form of Judaizing. However, the scholars tend to be confused with the spiritual law of God and the Mosaic law. We've even had ministers in the church who talk about Galatians chapter 3, in which Paul says, I think he uses the term, the whole law. Well, it was the whole law of oblations, Washington sacrifices that were done under the Old Covenant. All of those have been done away with in Christ Jesus. So if we turn to Hebrews chapter 9, and I think about verse 9 or 10, so turn to Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews chapter 9, and let's go to, let's say, verse 8. We'll go to verse 8 here.

The Holy Spirit, this signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest. See, the high priests on the Day of Atonement under the Old Covenant could only go into the holiest of all, the Holy of Holies, on the Day of Atonement and offer up for himself, the people, the tabernacle, and so on, to cleanse it of the sins that had been committed during that day and that had been laid to rest on the altar, that they might remain ceremonially clean, but as we shall see, it did not change their conscience.

So, the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest. That is, we can go before the throne of God, 24-7, as they say. We can go anytime before God's very throne and make our wants and petitions known, as it says in Hebrews chapter 4.

So, the gift that they offered could not make burnt.

Sorry about the dog barking. The Holy Spirit thus signified that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was yet standing, which was a figure, see, a figure that represented something that was symbolic for the present in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not make them that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience. Today, the law of God through the Holy Spirit is written on our inward parts. So that we are without excuse, it's not written on tables of stone. It actually shows us what is right and what is wrong. And then you have if you have been begotten by God's Spirit and studied His Word, if you think about or consider doing something that is wrong, sinful, then there is a tug on the conscience that says, no, you should not do that, which stood only in the meats and drinks and different washings and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of Reformation. So all of those things were done away with meats, drinks, different washings, carnal ordinances, carnal means fleshly, imposed on them until the time of Reformation. We're living in the time of Reformation in which the Spirit of God has been given to us. So we are free from that. And we were back now in 2 Peter 3 and verse 10. I want to read this verse in its entirety again.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. And we talked about 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise. And we talked about the fact that matter cannot be created or destroyed, and only God can do that. And if literally destroyed the heavens, then God Himself would be destroyed. We know that's not going to happen if the Bible is true. And the elements shall melt with fervent heat.

The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. So there's going to be a change of garment in the heavens. There are going to be new garments. There's going to be new government. They're going to be dissolved and burned up. It's in verse 11. And seeing then all these things shall be destroyed, what manner of person sought you to be in all holy conversation or conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God. And remember we read the last verse in Revelation 6.

They were calling for the mountains and the rocks to fall upon them so they would not see the face of God and Christ at that time as they began to pour out their vengeance on the earth. We need to read that last verse of Revelation chapter 6 once again so that you know and know that you know Revelation 6 in the last verse. Revelation chapter 6 and the last verse of Revelation chapter 6.

For the great day of the wrath of God has come, who shall be able to stand? And verse 16. And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from him that sits on the throne, and remember that and, and from the wrath of the Lamb. So God and Christ are involved in the wrath that is going to come upon my humankind. Now I want to give the background with regard to the elements. So as we said earlier that commentators tend to in Galatians, tends to combine the spiritual law of God with the weak and beggarly elements, and the weak and beggarly elements are not the Mosaic law. The weak and beggarly elements are what the pagans practice before they were converted. An interesting thing to note at this juncture is that we hear of course a lot about Iran today and what's going on there. That Iran was formerly called Persia, and the official religion of the Persian Empire was Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism literally means the seed of the woman. Zoroastrianism literally means the seed of the woman. Where does that come from? In Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 it says, and her seed will bruise the head of Satan.

Cain thought in Genesis 4 that he was the Messiah. He didn't bring a sacrifice for sin as Abel did. He brought a thank offering because he thought he was the seed of the woman who would bruise the head of Satan. And of course God rejected his offering because all of sin had come short of the glory of God. And Cain was just as much a sinner as Abel was at that juncture. And so God rejected Cain's offering and accepted Abel because Abel brought the firstlings of the flock to show that he recognized that he was a sinner. So there are so many elements tied into this that it's difficult to get a firm grasp on all of it. But anyhow, Cain thought that he was the seed of the woman which became the official religion of the Persian Empire. And as we shall see, the Zoroastrianism had a lot of strings tied to it that resulted in them actually believing in demons. And then in 700 AD, approximately, the Islamic world conquered the Persian Empire and the official religion now of Iran is that of Islam. And of course we know that Iran is a Shi'ite Republic, they call it. And one of the things that I've learned today is that the civil authorities in Iran have been overthrown and the military is now in control of Iran, the military authority. But anyhow, the Islam conquered the Iran and the official religion changed to Islam. The point I'm making is that the demons are at work, it seems, in Iran so mightily. And so as Paul writes in Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10, 11, and 12, we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against wicked spirits in heavenly places. So the demons are running rampant in that part of the world, especially in Iran.

So the Roycianism claims literally means seed of the woman. So Nimrod developed a religion. Of course, we know the story of Nimrod that he rebelled. He tried to build a tower. He is the father of Babylon. And from Babylon, Nimrod's religion and way of life spread throughout that part of the world. Nimrod's religion spread to Egypt, to India, to China, and later into all parts of the known world.

Nimrod and his priests taught a false interpretation of religious history of Adam and Eve and the nature of man and the nature of Eve and of man.

Parenthetically, since the entire educational system of the world was steeped in paganism, it was difficult for anyone to know the true God at that time in the old world.

But God called Abraham out of the old world and threw his seed, and eventually that seed he's speaking of in Genesis 12 and verse 3 is Jesus Christ, which Galatians takes up on in chapter 3.

So Babylon was controlled by Nimrod's priesthood, and the educational system was controlled by them, and the people were indoctrinated and misinterpreted the first three chapters of Genesis.

Nimrod combined monotheism. Monotheism is a belief in one God and animism. Animism is what we call pantheism in reality, that all is God and God is all. God is in everything. He's in wood, he's in iron, he's in metal, he's in us. Everything God is all and all is God. The nature of God was composed of four elements. Now this is very important to the understanding. We have people in the church, I believe, who think that the earth is going to be literally burned up. As we have quoted from Barnes and from other and other comments that we have made, that the earth itself, the language is figurative, that the elements, and I have quoted Ecclesiastes 1 and verse 4, the earth abides forever. And even the fact that if the heavens were vanished, then where the throne of God is would be vanished, and so on it goes. So it's talking about there be a change of the vesture, that which governs the earth will be righteousness. Righteousness will cover the earth as sand covers the seashore. Now back to Nimrod and what he taught. The nature of God was composed of four elements, earth, and the earth was that which brought forth life. In today's world, you'll hear the expression Mother Earth. It's called Gaia. G-A-G-A-I-A. That Mother Earth is a living organism. Now God condemns those. In Revelation chapter 11, he condemns those that are destroying the earth. Remember he placed Adam and Eve into the garden of Eden and told them to dress it and keep it. And he expects us to dress and keep the earth. The earth, but man has greatly polluted the earth so that virtually every square inch of the whole earth has been polluted by some activity of humankind.

So we need to be aware of that Mother Earth doctrine that some are trying to voice off on humankind, but at the same time we need to be aware of the environment and take care of it. So you had earth, water, air, and fire. Earth, water, air, and fire were the four elements that were assigned as invisible elementals or nature spirits. The earth was inhabited by gnomes, dwarfs, and elves. That gnomes, dwarfs, and elves still is in children's literature to this day, and Disney has made a fortune off selling to the public movies about imaginary creatures, which includes dwarfs and gnomes and elves and that kind of thing.

Each was signed a specific responsibility in guarding earth's treasures. Now this is Mystery Valeline. Each one was assigned different responsibilities. Water was inhabited by invisible beings called undines. Air was inhabited by imaginary beings called sifts. Fire was inhabited by imaginary mythological reptiles, and you've seen pictures of dragons with fire coming out their mouth. Well, that's where that comes from. Fire was inhabited by imaginary mythological reptiles that were able to live in fire. Each class of nature spirit was said to be composed of one of four elements, and at death they simply disintegrated into that particular element.

So there were personalities that were assigned to these various things. In fact, the signs of the zodiac were assigned to these four fixed elements, and you get Taurus, Scorpio, Aquarius, and Leo, respectively. Those four. Taurus, Scorpio, Aquarius, Leo. Thus the Babylonian god was nature as a whole, consisting of numerous gods called elementals. Well, when Christ comes again, all of these elementals are going to be burned up and cast down, as we read in Revelation chapter 6 verse 12, where the stars were cast down to the earth.

And we know that is speaking figuratively symbolically, because the smallest star is larger than the earth. So it has to do with the earth's vesture, its garments, its dresses, its government, is going to be changed.

There's going to be a new heaven and a new earth, but the literal heavens and the literal earth will remain. But that which governs, and remember it says in 2 Corinthians 4 and chapter 4 and verse 4, that Satan is the god of this present evil age. And I remind you once again of Paul in Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10, 11, 12, where he says, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against wicked spirits in high places.

So the elementals were thought to be visible to those who took certain drugs. So that's how drug usage came into the culture. It was through these drugs that they would have hallucinations and supposedly see these elementals. Thus, priests were often called sorcerers. Salvatore, in a book called the occult sciences, science estates, these auctions were exceedingly frequent in ancient ceremonies before consulting the Oracle of Zeus.

They were rubbed with oil all over, and that brought about the desired effect of hallucinations and seeing different things in their mind, which were not really real, which were not. There's much more to this, but that gives you somewhat of an idea of what is destroyed and what is brought to nothing. The earth itself abides forever. Ecclesiastes 1.4, the scripture is not broken. The heavens where God's throne is, the best year is changed. You know, it says in Ephesians chapter 2 that Satan is the prince of the power of the air.

Well, Satan is going to be placed in a bottomless pit for a thousand years and will no longer be able to plague humankind. And in the place of the Satan and the demons will be the angels of God and you as kings and priests in the kingdom of God, teaching the people the way of God and his righteousness. And the earth will be filled with the righteousness as sand fills and seashores. So to understand the truth of the Bible is very, very important. And we must not jump to conclusions. Once again, I remind you what it says about a day as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day.

That's not setting up any kind of pattern that God's going to follow. That's just showing that God doesn't view time in the same way that we do. And you're not going to figure out exactly when God is going to come. It says he will come as a thief as a knight. And if the watchman had known what hour the thief was coming, they would have been watching and would have been ready. We're admonished to be ready at all times, as in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, which I we read parts of, or nearly all of it, last time.

So let's read 12 again in 2 Peter 3, 12. So, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God. Now, we read about, some people try to separate the day of God from the day of the Lord. Well, they're both involved, as we read from verse 16 in Revelation chapter 6.

Hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne and from the Lamb. It's there as plain as day in the Bible. Will you believe the Bible?

I hope we believe the Bible above all things.

So, let's read 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 12. Looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervor and heat. So we have described those elementals that Nimrod introduced into the culture, which remnants of those elementals still live among us today. And of course, the elementals were really nothing more than demons, if anything, as they had hallucinations and visions, as they took their drug potions. And that caused them to see all kinds of things that were not really there. But you know that Satan the devil walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour at all times. Nevertheless, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness. And I've described that, that in the kingdom of God, especially in Isaiah 61, you can read of them. You will be the teachers. You will be kings and priests in the kingdom of God, and you will teach them the truth of God. And they will no longer teach these things that has caused man to er so greatly and torment in humankind for these thousands of years. God has allowed it because he wants us to know that he is God and there is no other God. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that we look for such things, be diligent. Be diligent. Be watchful. Be sober. As it says in 1 Thessalonians 5, that we may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless. Blameless. If any man sinned, he can go before the throne of God. He's just and faithful to forgive us of all unrighteousness. That is based upon repentance. And account that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation. The long suffering. In other words, God is patient. He is long suffering. He's not anxious to come again and blot out all of humankind that is not converted. So once again, read that sentence. And account that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation. His long suffering is salvation for the human race. Even as our beloved brother Paul, also according to the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you. So Paul wrote some of these things as well unto them. And therefore, beloved, seeing you know that these things beware, lest you also be led away with the error of the wicked and fall from your own steadfastness.

But the knowledge, the growing, the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, him be both, to him be glory both now and forever. Amen. So preach and show Peter's powerful, powerful epistles we have read. I didn't read verse 16. And also speaking of Paul's epistles, and also in all epistles, speaking in them of the things in which are some things hard to be understood.

If properly explained, they seem to be quite simple, because you have Romans 3.23 says, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There are no exceptions that God has, that there are no exceptions that God gave us free will, and every person that has ever lived has sinned. Now, I don't know exactly when we reached the age of accountability, in which we know right and wrong, but obviously, when we are convicted of our sins through the Word and Spirit of God, God expects us to repent and obey from that point forward.

Also, in all epistles, speaking in them the things in which are some things hard to be understood. Well, it's not so difficult. Even the Apostle Paul said, of sinners, I am cheap. Paul, at one point, was locking up and, apparently, killing Christians. When he was struck down, he was on his way to arrest and imprison and possibly kill Christians on the way to Damascus and Antioch. So, Paul said, I am the chief of sinners. But then, the next verse is to talk about God has sent forth a perpetuation, someone that went in our place and paid the price for us, so that, through faith in the sacrifice of Christ, the sins that are passed should be blotted out. Now, in the same like manner, after we are converted, after we have repented, after we have been baptized, after we receive the laying on of hands, after we have received the Holy Spirit, we will sin. And there you have, once again, 1 John chapter 1. If any man says, without sin, he is a liar.

Because we've all sinned, even after conversion. And then, if we are faithful and just to confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and blot them out, so we can live in freedom. You know, it says in James 1, which we covered earlier when studying the general epistles, the perfect law of liberty. We want to walk in the perfect law of liberty, which frees us from fear, ignorance, superstition, and the dogmas of man. The people that lived during the days of Nimrod and still living today under the sway of Satan the Devil and his minions, and they are brought into bondage by them. Know to whom you yield yourselves to obey his servants you are. Paul says that in Romans chapter 6. So, Paul's epistles to me are not that difficult to understand. I guess the part that is so difficult, I guess people, is by faith alone we are justified. But that faith, faith without the sacrifice of Christ, faith in believing that he has paid the price for us, is not faith at all. So, faith has many dimensions, which includes, of course, that Christ died for our sins. And then in Galatians it says that should we continue in sin, that grace may abound, well, God forbid, because then God would be the minister of sin. So, brother and I hope that we are aware of what we're doing, that we are studying the scriptures, that we are studying the scriptures, that we know what we're doing, that we're watching, that we're faithful to the very end. So, we will conclude the Bible study this evening with that. We will ask you if you have any questions or comments this evening. Do we have any questions or comments? Hey, Dr. Ward. I just thought I would just mention that, you know, it is very obvious as you read Peter's writings, especially 2 Peter, that he had the hope of the kingdom, first and foremost, in his mind, you know, being the apostle of hope. And he really strived to project that hope onto the church, onto those he was writing to, and trying to get us to be purified and to be cleansed and to be ready for the kingdom in our personal lives and the way we live. And so, certainly words from a man who was getting ready to put off his tent, as he said, and you know, trying to convey the hope that he had to all of us. Yes, great comment. And also, I hope we understand, do we understand this part about the elements melting with fervor and heat and the earth abiding forever and what is melted, what is burned up, the vesture changed and all of that. The vesture changed and all of that. I hope we understand all of that.

Do we have any other question or comment?

I think it's Psalm 102, verse 4, maybe. I'm suddenly now thinking about this vesture change. I don't know for sure what verse this is or what chapter or verse it is. I think it's Psalm 102, verse 4.

Let me see. It's not 102, verse 4.

It's not 104, verse 2. It's not that, but there's a verse that says that the garments are going to be changed. Maybe it's in Isaiah. I'm pretty sure maybe it is. But anyhow, I hope we understand that. Any other question or comment?

Questions or comments?

Okay. No question or comment. We'll say good night for tonight and we'll see you naked in two weeks.