2 Peter 3:3-5-
"3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water"
The word “coming” here is translated as “presence” in the Context Bible- The actual Greek word is “Parousia” and can be translated as coming or presence. I like both translations of the word in the presented passage because I am witness to the manifestation of both translations currently. If we take the translation “coming” we can see that both Jews and Gentiles alike are currently in this mindset. The Jews on the one hand provoke the hearts of Christians to wrath in saying that their Messiah has not come, and they continue as they have for millennia preparing for His arrival. They are blind.
The Gentiles engage this mindset as a form of permission to continue in the blackness of their actions. They say, therefore, that the second coming is delayed and therefore must not be true, so they seize the opportunity to eat, drink, and be merry.
Yet, if we utilize the translation “Presence” we gain the understanding of still another set of hearts. These hearts in total are comprised of both of the above groups as well as born again believers. These are the hearts that say like Mary and Martha- “If the Lord were here, this would not have happened.” They apply this sentiment to death, destruction, mayhem, etc. because they are blatantly unaware that the authority over the earth realm has been given to man. They, as the above verse teaches us, “willingly” forget that by the word of God… thus and so has happened. They willingly forget that they have been given authority by the Savior Jesus Christ to use His name for the purpose of speaking the word of God on this earth that it might come to pass. They do not want to be responsible for redeeming the days as they were instructed so they choose to ignore the fact that God said Death and Life are in the power of the tongue- Not in the power of God. These willingly ignorant people harden their hearts to the presence of the Lord. They will not to see Him in their lives day to day, they chose not to consult with Him on their decisions as if He is not present with them at all times. They willfully ignorant Him because they do not actually believe that He is there!
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