What Is the World Coming To?

Known for his unique ability to simplify profound truth so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers, and Christian leaders of our time. Thanks for joining us for this message.

Here's Adrian Rogers. These are exciting days in which we live, and people are talking much about a new world order. That seems to be the word on everybody's heart and mind today. We're talking about the world being sort of a global village. And since I've lived, I've heard leaders talk about the New Deal, and then the Great Society, and then we spoke of Camelot, and then Thousand Points of Light, and now Healing the Breaches, and all of these slogans, but they're coming together now outside of America and around the world to speak of a new world order. And the truth of the matter is, there will be a new world order. Look, if you will, in verse 13. Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Now, this new world order is not going to be brought about by human effort.

As C.S. Lewis has told us, no arrangement of bad eggs will make a good omelet, no matter how much you stir them. We're not going to have the world order that God wants us to have until things get in place that God wants to put in place. And right now, the world is in a mess because things are out of place. Satan is a criminal, and the criminal belongs in prison. And the church is the bride, and the bride belongs with the groom. His name is Jesus. Jesus is a king, and the king belongs on the throne.

And when the criminal is in prison, and when the bride is with the groom, and the king is on the throne, we're going to have that new world order, and I can hardly wait for that. Now, the devil does not like the idea of the second coming of the Lord Jesus and this new world order. And I want you to go back now to chapter 3, verse 1, and look. Peter says, this second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you, in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance.

Now, folks, we need to be stirred up. And I pray, God, that you will not just sit there and glaze over. But Peter said in that day, and I want to say in this day, wake up, stir up your minds, remember what God has said, that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before of the holy prophets and of the commandment of us, the apostles of our Lord and Savior, knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days, and I believe we're living in the last days, they shall come in the last days, scoffers walking after their own lust and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. And then Peter says, for this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. 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. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass 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, seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved. What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation in godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Now, I want us to think about this. We're talking about what's the world coming to, perhaps we ought to change the title and ask who's coming to the world, and his name is the Lord Jesus. We all have a feeling, I do in my heart, that we're coming to the climax of an age.

And I believe this lost generation may be the last generation. We may be that generation that's going to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And Peter says, look, stir yourselves up.

We get all excited if somebody can take a piece of horse hide, wrap it around a piece of cork, take a limb off a tree and hit it out of a pasture 70 times, and we say, isn't that wonderful? Well, folks, I want to tell you something better than that. Jesus is coming. Jesus is coming, and we need to get excited about the things that really, really, really matter.

Now, three things I want you to see in this passage that I've read to you. First of all, the scoffing denials of his coming. The Bible prophesies in the last days there are going to come scoffers ridiculing his coming. Notice, verse 3, knowing this verse, that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lust. And these people who scoff, scoff with their mind, they ridicule with their emotions, and they laugh with their wills against the second coming of the Lord Jesus.

I want you to see why they do this. By the way, true believers have always loved the second coming of Jesus, and unbelievers have always hated the second coming of Jesus. I love the second coming of Jesus because I'll see him face to face. I love the second coming of Jesus because it brings me joy and comfort and hope. But if you are not saved, you don't want him to come because you know when he comes there will be judgment.

If there is no second coming, if there is no accountability, then you can go on in ignorance and willful sin and following your own lust. But let me show you what these people, these who do not believe in the second coming of Jesus, let me show you how they oppose this truth. First of all, they oppose it emotionally because they ridicule the second coming of Jesus. Notice this, in the last days there will come scoffing. Now, I've been preaching long enough to know that one of Satan's chief tools is ridicule, mockery.

It's always been that way. Ridicule, scoffing, mockery, that is a mighty weapon in Satan's arsenal. It is Satan's substitute for substance, not only is the truth going to be mocked, but those who believe this truth are going to be mocked.

We're called today a fundamentalist, we're called literalists, we're called all kinds of things because we hold to the truth of God's word and the servant is not better than his master. They mocked Jesus and, friend, I will promise you they will mock you. Let me give you some scriptures to show you how they mocked the Lord Jesus. Mark 5 and verse 40, the Bible says concerning Jesus, they laughed him to scorn.

Can you imagine that? Can you imagine people laughing to scorn the very Lord Jesus Christ? In Luke chapter 22 verse 63, the Bible says, then the men that held Jesus mocked him and smote him.

Not only did they laugh in his face, they hit him in the face. And then in Luke 23 verses 35 through 37, and the people stood beholding. And now this is when Jesus is on the cross and the rulers also with them derided him. That means they mocked him, saying he saved others.

Let him save himself if he be the Christ, the chosen of God. And in verse 36, the Bible says, the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar and saying, if thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. They laughed at Jesus. They are still laughing. They're laughing at the second coming. They are mocking you. But I want to remind you the one who laughs last is the one who laughs best.

Isn't that true? Now you listen to Proverbs chapter 1 verses 24 through 27. God says, because I've called and ye refused, I've stretched out my hand and no man regard it, but you've said it not all my counsel and would have none of my reproof. I also will laugh at your calamity.

I will mock when your fear cometh, when your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, as a tornado, when distress and anguish cometh upon you. There was a Roman emperor whose name was Julian. Julian and another Roman citizen had grown up together. The other boy was named Agathon. Agathon and Julian were good friends.

And then they separated and Julian became an emperor. And while he'd heard of Christ, he refused Christ and he learned to mock Christ and ridicule Christ. Agathon became a strong and wonderful Christian.

After both of these men had grown up, they happened to meet and Julian knew that Agathon was a Christian. And Julian, the apostate emperor of Rome, said to Agathon, well, where is the carpenter these days? How is the carpenter doing?

Talking of Jesus, ridiculing the fact that Jesus was a carpenter from Galilee. He says, does the carpenter have any work today? Is the carpenter getting some small jobs? Agathon said, yes, Julian, the carpenter is busy.

He has a job. He is nailing together a coffin to put your empire in. And what a prophet he was because very soon the Persians had come and overrun the land and Julian's empire crumbled and as he lay dying on the ground, history tells us, he says, you've conquered, oh Galilean. You see, God is the one who's going to have the last word and there are those mockers and they still mock today and friend, get ready for it.

If they don't ridicule you, you need to ask yourself why and don't let any ridicule keep you from serving our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So first of all, in this opposition to the second coming of Jesus Christ, there is that emotional opposition that we call scoffing. But not only is there an emotional opposition to his coming, there is an intellectual opposition to his coming. Notice in verse 4, and they say, where is the promise of his coming?

For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. Now what they say is this, these are the materialists, these are the intellectuals who do not believe that God can supernaturally break into history. They say history has shown that things have gone along for all these hundreds and thousands of years and if Jesus Christ is going to come, that would mean there would be a break in the reign of natural law and there are those today who not only take an emotional approach, scoffing against the Lord Jesus Christ and his coming, but there are those who take an intellectual approach. These are the intelligentsia who believe it is superstition to believe what I believe and what you believe about the second coming of Jesus Christ. It is an insult to their pride and human intellect. And here's the argument, nothing cataclysmic has happened and so there is no reason to believe that it will happen in the future.

These are taking a scientific approach. Now there's a third approach to those who oppose the second coming of Jesus. There is the emotional opposition to his coming, scoffers. There is the intellectual opposition to his coming, those who believe in the reign of natural law. And then there is the volitional opposition, that is of the will. People actually summon, as well as their emotions and their mind, they summon their will against the second coming of Jesus.

Notice verse 5, For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, and so forth. That is, they marshal up their will, they don't believe because they do not want to believe, they do not wish to know. They're none so blind as those who put out their own eyes. And Jesus said in John chapter 3 verse 19, And this is the condemnation that light has come into the world, but men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. And as we've said before, some people can't find God for the same reason a thief can't find a policeman.

They don't want to know, they bring their wills against him. And you're going to find today those who will refuse it emotionally, those who will refuse it intellectually, and those who will refuse it volitionally with their will. Now, that is what I want to call the scoffing denials of his coming. But now I want you to notice the scriptural declaration of his coming. How do we know that Jesus is going to come?

First of all, by his wonderful memorable promises. Look, if you will, in verses 1 and 2. Again, this second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you, in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of our Lord and Savior.

He says, now listen, in spite of all of this mockery, in spite of all of this opposition, remember the word, remember the promises. Look in verse 4, they're going to say, where is the promise of his coming? Look in verse 9, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise. Now, how do I know Jesus is coming again?

Because I believe the Bible. The Bible has shown itself to be the word of God, and over and over again in the Bible, the second coming of Jesus is mentioned. Now, the new birth is important, but the new birth is mentioned only nine times in the Bible. Baptism is important. It's only mentioned 20 times in the Bible.

Repentance, wonderfully important. It is only mentioned 70 times in the New Testament. But folks, the second coming of Jesus Christ is mentioned 380 times in the New Testament alone. I mean, where is the promise of his coming? He has promised, and he cannot lie. If you take the whole Bible, one out of every 25 verses in the Bible speak of the second coming of Jesus Christ.

So what is the response to this scoffing denial? What is the scriptural declaration? Well, there is a promise to remember, and there is a power to remember. Notice, if you will, in verse 5, "'For this they willingly are ignorant of, "'that by the word of God the heavens were of old, "'and the earth standing out of the water and in the water.'" It speaks of his mighty power.

They're saying, well, all things continue as they were. God has not intervened, but God has intervened. How did God intervene? He came out of creation. He made everything according to verse 5.

He spoke, and the world came into being. To be an atheist, you have to believe that matter appeared out of nowhere and out of nothing. The atheist not only has to explain the origin of life from inorganic matter, but he has to explain where that matter came from. And out of nothing, nothing comes. But God says they're willingly ignorant of this, "'that by the word of God the heavens were of old, "'and the earth standing out of the water and in the water.'"

God has such mighty power that he created it all. And then Peter reminds us that not only did God create it all, and that's creation, but God sent a cataclysm already. That's the flood.

Notice verse 6. "'Wherein the world that then was, "'being overflowed with water, perished.'" And the word overflowed in the Greek language, where did we get our word cataclysm from? There's already been a cataclysm. God already one time destroyed this present world system with a flood. He created it, he condemned it with a cataclysm. It was overflowed, and God can bring another cataclysm any time he pleases. For Psalm 115 and verse 3 says, "'But our God is in the heavens. "'He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.'"

And I agree with that. Now watch. Creation, cataclysm, and now what's the next step? Conflagration. There's going to be fire the next time. Look in verses 10 and 11. "'But the day of the Lord will come, "'as a thief in the night, "'in which the heavens shall pass 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, "'seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, "'what manner of persons ought ye to be?'"

Now actually, look at this very carefully. And the Bible says, when the heavens and the earth are reserved under fire, it literally says that they are stored with fire. That's what Kenneth Wiest, the great Greek scholar, says that the word reserved literally means...

It literally means stored with fire. When I got to thinking about that, I tried to do some study about the nuclear composition of the world in which we live, and I studied a little bit about the atomic nuclear nature of all physical material matter. You know, everything is made up of atomic particles, and every atom has a nucleus, and in that nucleus of that atom is a positive electrical charge.

And around that nucleus, there were little particles, very minute particles that are called electrons, and while the nucleus has a positive charge, the electrons that whirl around the nucleus have a negative charge of electricity. Now, these electrons are whirling around that nucleus so fast, I read this statement. I said, I must have misread it. I read it again. I said, I must have misread it.

So I read it the third time, and this is what I read. They whirl around the nucleus billions of times every millionth of a second. That's moving. Moving around this thing billions of times every millionth of a second. Now, these electrons are moving around. Well, you know that there's an attraction between the positive and the negative, and so these electrons don't fly off into space because the positive and the negative attract one another, and the positive charges in the nucleus are called protons, and the negative charges that whirl around that are called electrons, and the protons and the electrons pull at each other, and they keep the whole thing from flying apart. Are you interested in this?

All right. Now, you have to ask yourself, where did that electrical charge come from? Who stored all of that? Who packed all of that and caused these electrons to orbit around that nucleus with its protons? Well, what keeps all that together? What keeps them from repelling and flying apart? Well, folks, I'll tell you what holds it all together.

Jesus. You know, the Bible says, by him, all things consist, and that word consist literally means they all hold together. He is the glue of the galaxies. Now, did you know that these electrons and these protons, they're really not matter. They're really electrical charges. Everything that we see here, we say it's solid, but it's really not solid. It's really not solid. It appears solid to us, but actually it is just a mass of atomic nature, and that atomic nature is just made up of electrical charges of positive and negative electricity. Another word for that is fire.

Just fire. And that's what Peter says here, that the entire universe is charged, is stored with fire. Now, I don't think he'd been to MIT before he wrote this, but this is what he wrote by divine inspiration, and you know, you can't see the atomic molecular nature of things, and again, the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 11 verse 3, through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that things which are seen are not made of things which do appear.

What is he saying? He's saying that the visible is made of the invisible, and it is stored with fire. Everything is stored with fire. These clothes are stored with fire.

This microphone is stored with fire. The pages of this book is stored with fire. This carpet is stored with fire. The seat that you're sitting on is stored with fire. This building is stored with fire. The air that we breathe, all of it, is stored with fire.

It's all made of fire. And what Peter says is going to end with a big bang. He didn't say it's going to start with a big bang. It's going to end with a big bang. Look if you will in verse 10. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.

Here is an atomic meltdown where the elements melt with fervent heat, and the word fervent heat literally means fever heat, internal heat. That is the one who holds it all together, the one of whom it is said by him all things consist. He's just going to relax his grip a little bit, and all of this molecular structure of this earth, the heavens and the earth, are going to melt with a great noise. And this is what's going to happen one of these days. Now, what Peter is saying to those who laugh and scoff, those who come against the second coming of Jesus emotionally and intellectually and volitionally, he says, you just don't understand, in the first place, God made it all.

He spoke. Second place, God sent judgment one time by flood, and he said it was water the first time is going to be fire the second time. Water the first time is going to be fire the second time. So I want to say to all of the do-gooders and the social engineers, if you don't know Jesus, you're trying to make this world a better place. All you're doing is making it a better place to go to hell from and rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

That's what you're doing. Friend, this world is stored with fire, and this world is headed for judgment. And so he speaks of God's promise, he speaks of God's power, and then he speaks of God's patience. They were saying, why hasn't Jesus Christ come?

Well, he answers that question. Look in verse 8. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day's with the Lord is a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

It's God's patience. God's longsuffering is why Jesus Christ has not come. These people who scoff at the second coming of Jesus, they're ignorant of what God has done.

They're also ignorant of what God is like. God is above and beyond time, and God doesn't wake up by an alarm clock. Look in verse 8. One day's with the Lord is a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. God doesn't punch a time clock when he goes to work.

Psalm 90, verse 4. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. You see, listen, as far as God is concerned, it's only been two days since Jesus left this earth.

Only two days. God hasn't forgotten. The reason that Jesus has not yet come is God has kept the door of mercy open. Look in verse 15, if you will, and account that the longsuffering of our God is salvation. God is waiting. That's the reason that Noah's ark was 120 years in preparing. God waited.

At the same time of Lot, Abraham was interceding, and God waited to bring judgment upon Sodom. And, folks, I believe that God in mercy is waiting on our generation to come to Jesus. But one of these days, the day of the Lord will come. The day of the Lord will come, and even now the raging waters of God's wrath are furiously pounding against the dam of his mercy. Jesus is going to come suddenly like a thief in the night.

Now, that brings me to the third thing. We've talked about the scoffing denials. We've talked about the scriptural declarations. Now let's talk just a little bit about the sovereign demands of his coming. If this is true, if the heavens and the earth, which we know now, are reserved under fire, if the day of the Lord will come, if everything that we know and have is going to be burned up, then how should we be living? Look, if you will, in verse 11, seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? Now, folks, that is a big question. If there's a new world coming, what should I be like?

What should you be like? Well, the job that we have, the duty that we have, is to get as many folks saved as we can. The only reason that Jesus has not yet come, according to verse 9, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, not willing suffering thusward, not willing that any should perish. Now, there's some people who believe that there's a certain amount who are going to be saved and it's foreordained, it's already settled, nothing we can do about it, and God has predestined some to heaven and God has predestined some for hell. God chose some to go to heaven and God chose some to go to hell.

I don't believe that for one second. I believe that God wants everybody saved. God wants everybody saved. Read it, friend.

Read black print on white paper. The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. You get the idea that God created a little baby born into this world with a baby smile and said, you, child, are going to go to hell and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. I don't believe that.

I don't believe that for a moment. Listen, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And seeing that all these things are going to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation in godliness?

Now, friend, I want to tell you something. Whether you believe these prophecies or not does not depend upon whether you write it down in your notebook or in the margin of your Bible. We need to get our heads out of the clouds of prophecy and get our feet on the soul-winning pavement and bring souls to Jesus Christ because if God is not willing that any should perish, if He is waiting for more people to get saved, then what do we need to do? We need to get them in the ark of safety. And I'm telling you, folks, people have an idea that we're coming to the end of a generation, coming to the end of an age. What an opportunity to preach Jesus. What an opportunity.

You listen to me now. What an opportunity to share the Lord Jesus Christ because people are going to be open. Do you know what you can say to them?

You can say, I want to ask you a question. If Jesus Christ were to come, would you be ready? Would you go to heaven or would you go to hell? I'm telling you, folks, people are looking. People are more interested today than ever before about the things that we have, the things that we know, the things that we believe. What manner of persons ought we to be? We need to get ready, seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved.

What manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation in godliness? We need to be prayed up. We need to be filled with holy fire and fervor and faith and boldness and share Jesus Christ.

Get ready for a mighty harvest of people coming to Jesus Christ. These things are going to be burned up. There's an old story, true story, I'm told. In Oklahoma City, there was a fire in an apartment house and the flames were just consuming that apartment and there was a woman who had been carried out of that apartment by a fireman and she was fighting to go back into the fire and they said, what's wrong? She said, my baby. My baby is up there. My baby is in that apartment. I've got to get my baby out.

She's up there and it was several stories high and they had to hold her back because she would have surely perished. But she said, somebody's got to get my baby. And a fireman said, I'll try to get your baby. I'll go. The other fireman said, no, you'll lose your life. She said, no, I'll go. Put the ladder up to the window. Keep the hoses on me.

I'll go. And that brave fireman went up that ladder and into that window, into that smoke-filled room and went and felt his way through. He could hardly see. He found a baby crib. He reached in there and picked up that little bundle and held it up close to him and came to the window, choking through the blinding smoke and came to the window and the people gave a cheer and they played the hoses on him again and to keep the heat away and he came down the ladder and came over to that woman and handed her that bundle and she pulled the blanket back and said, that's not my baby, that's my baby's doll. And when I heard that story, I thought, what a tragedy. What a tragedy. And I wonder if we're going to come to the end of an age hugging to our bosom the toys of this world when everything's going up in fire.

Now, friend, the house and the car and all these things, they're not that important. What is important is the souls of men, souls of men. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness hasting to the coming of our Lord? I mean, there is a new world order coming. I tell you, one of these days, the king will be on his throne, the criminal will be in jail and the bride will be with the groom and I can hardly wait till Jesus comes. I want to get as many to come and go with me as I can. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. If you would like to learn more about how you can know Jesus or deepen your relationship with him, simply click the Discover Jesus link on our website, lwf.org. For a copy of this message or additional resources, visit our online store at lwf.org or call 1-800-274-5683. Thank you.