The Regular Guys Bible Study
The Regular Guys Bible Study podcast -- RGBS -- is a podcast for regular guys by regular guys (not theologians) studying the Bible together. It's brought to you by a couple of goofy guys who just want to study the Bible together and show you that anyone can read and study the Bible. In fact, you SHOULD read and study the Bible yourself. We're here to show you how we do it, and, hopefully, we can have some fun along the way.
The Regular Guys Bible Study
2 Peter 3
Can you imagine waiting for something so monumental, only to be laughed at for your belief? That's exactly what Peter's letters address, as we wrap up our journey through Second Peter and close out season five. We take a thoughtful look at chapter three, where Peter encourages believers to stay steadfast despite the scoffers. Our discussion revolves around the vivid imagery of the earth's fiery end, urging us all to lead lives of holiness and godliness. With a mix of light-hearted banter, playful nods to holiday classics, and the occasional intellectual misstep, we keep the core message of faith alive, reflecting on the teachings of the prophets and apostles.
Moving forward, we explore the age-old themes of prophecy, societal values, and end-times speculation. Whether it's comparing biblical commandments to love thy neighbor with iconic TV characters like "The Six Million Dollar Man" or humorously debating how modern disasters might fit apocalyptic prophecies, our lively conversation is peppered with cultural references and song lyrics. As we touch on the serious topics of global threats, predestination, and free will, we also ponder the mysteries of time, choice, and destiny through the fascinating lens of science and theology. Join us for an engaging exploration of faith, philosophy, and the intriguing intersections that bind them.
You are listening to the Regular Guys Bible Study Podcast, the Bible study for regular guys by regular guys. We are your hosts, Ken and Steve, and we are just regular guys studying the Bible together.
Speaker 2:Not theologiansians.
Speaker 1:You got that right. All right, steve. Um guess, what today is what? What is today?
Speaker 2:Columbus Day okay columbus day.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about for the podcast. This is the last day of second peter. This is the last chapter five of. Yeah, this is the last podcast of season five, which is second Peter, chapter three. We are going to conclude. It Isn't that awesome.
Speaker 2:It's fantastic. They can't see them out of your head. Oh, they might be able to hear the rocks inside. Oh, they might be able to hear the rocks inside.
Speaker 1:Did you hear the clapping? You didn't hear the clapping. You didn't hear the clapping. No, so we have something messed up. Did you hear?
Speaker 2:the music, yeah, but it was the weird going fading in and out.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I don't have the audio set right for you. Okay, that's all right. Um, well, let's continue on. All right, we are going to do, um, our last thing in second Peter. So are you ready to get started? I am ready, all right, who's reading?
Speaker 2:All right.
Speaker 1:Who's reading Reading? Who Are you reading the scripture, Steve I?
Speaker 2:think it's your turn. I read all of two last time.
Speaker 1:All right, I don't think that's true. I think, you should read all of three, which is shorter than two. I'm actually going to read through 13.
Speaker 2:And then later you can read the rest of it.
Speaker 1:And you can read, like the last little bit. All right, 2 Peter, chapter 3. If you have not read it yet, I encourage you to pause. Go read 2 Peter, chapter 3, so you can follow along more easily. All right, and we're back.
Speaker 1:This is now the second letter that I'm writing to you, beloved. In both of them, I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this, first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days, with scoffing, following their own sinful desires, they will say where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation, for they have deliberately overlooked this fact that the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and through water, by the word of God, and that, by means of these, the world that then existed was deluged, deluged, deluged. There you go. Very good, ken, thank you. With water and perished, but by the same word.
Speaker 1:The heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact beloved that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise to some count slowness but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar and the heavenly bodies will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming? All right, that was 2 Peter 3, verse 1 through 13.
Speaker 2:Thank you for that deluge of words, Ken.
Speaker 1:You're welcome. You know, sometimes people that are as smart and intellectual, as intellectual as me, have to put these little seeds out there or people won't be able to make fun of us. And so I do those kinds of things to give you a little bit of bait that you know it can't just be make fun of Steve Auer all the time.
Speaker 2:Steve, Sometimes there have to be some nuggets out there you're welcome oh, you're a nice guy I know no all right all right so you were claiming to have all these notes and stuff I've got all claiming I couldn't all these notes got all these. No, I was claiming I couldn't get on the sink.
Speaker 1:I've got all these notes. They're as big as the kitchen sink and stuff.
Speaker 2:Well, all right.
Speaker 1:So what are your notes? What did you write down?
Speaker 2:So let me ask you this yeah, that first sentence, all right, peter says this is the second letter. We just finished the other one before this one.
Speaker 1:That's right. Which was first, peter?
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm, why did he write them?
Speaker 1:Why did he write the letters Mm-hmm, both of the letters. He mentions this in the first letter. I believe that he's sending a reminder. So I think this letter is more so about don't be discouraged.
Speaker 2:Really Well, I don't know really well, I don't know, the planet gonna die in a fiery burning, burning death, and the sky will burn and, oh, be encouraged by that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but that's not the point. The point is, they were expecting that by now true and you know, and now they're being made fun of saying people are the scoffers are scoffing. The scoffers are coming and what are they doing? They're scoffing, scoffing, that's what else would? Scoffers do, though. Well, the scoffers could come and and say they're sorry then they'd be I'm sorriers, that's true, not scoffers so the scoffers come a scoffing that sounds like a song. The scoffers come a scoffing.
Speaker 2:That's the 12 days of Christmas. That's the 13th day 13 scoffers a scoffing. Yep.
Speaker 1:All right. So yeah, I think it's saying don't be discouraged, god is coming back, don't worry about that, or Jesus is coming back and he's going to bring fire with him when he returns. I've always quoted and heard it quoted many times to me and by me, that to God, 10,000 years is a day. A day is like 10,000 years. So I mean.
Speaker 2:In fact, you say it so many times, it's like all you ever say. You always say it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's true. Well, I mean I say other words between the times that I say that, but when I do say it I never know where it's from. I know it's from the Bible. I can say it says in the Bible. So you know what I'm going to try to remember this time.
Speaker 2:You know, it says in 2 Peter 3.
Speaker 1:I'm not going to get any more detailed than that, but I'm going to say in 2 Peter 3, Peter says that to God, 10,000 years is like a day and a day is like 10,000 years, and I said that backwards already, so my paraphrase is glorious.
Speaker 2:Just don't add any dots or tittles.
Speaker 1:I won't. I can just put rearranging words and stuff. That's kind of dots and tittles, isn't it?
Speaker 2:I don't know. If it changes the best we can do is how we interpret it yeah, unless we actually memorize it and quote it word for word, but even then we're going from someone else's translation all right.
Speaker 1:So let me ask you this. You asked why he wrote it and I said as a reminder and a warning and a warning and well, and encouragement. I say an encouragement, not not. I think it's not really a warning, I think it's encouragement, um, but well, it's also both.
Speaker 2:It's saying live your life like it could be anytime, so don't get caught but he just finished talking about all the false prophets that we have to watch out for, so I think it's a warning as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're right, it is both. But what is he reminding us of?
Speaker 2:Commandment of the Lord and Savior through his apostles.
Speaker 1:What.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I have a note about that. I'm not sure where it's at.
Speaker 1:What that you should remember.
Speaker 2:Remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles.
Speaker 1:Okay, and what Okay? So what are these predictions?
Speaker 2:Or, as we would say, these prophecies, you mean that he's going to return?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yes.
Speaker 2:Is that what you mean?
Speaker 1:That's what I mean. I believe that's what he's saying here.
Speaker 2:Don't forget. What's the commandment that the Lord and Savior gave through the apostles?
Speaker 1:You should know this.
Speaker 2:I do, but do you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, what are the two greatest commandments?
Speaker 2:Love God with all your heart, all your soul and all your might, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Speaker 1:That's right. There you go. Those are the commandments. That's how I take it. I mean, didn't he even mention that command? Last chapter Did he. It was either last chapter or the chapter before, but I think Well I can't find it.
Speaker 2:We made him stronger. We made him faster.
Speaker 1:Ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching. All right, that's a $6 million man reference for those of you who haven't seen it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, there could be a lot of people listening. That is way before their time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but you know what my kids know about it.
Speaker 2:I bet they do it takes good parenting.
Speaker 1:My girls love the bionic woman.
Speaker 2:I like the greatest American hero. I did watch that he was such a dork.
Speaker 1:That was a good show, all right. What are we talking about here, steve?
Speaker 2:That has nothing to do with this.
Speaker 1:Scoffers and scoffing All right. So what else would you like to talk about? With scoffers and scoffing, all right. So what other? What else would you like to talk about? The scoffers and the?
Speaker 2:and they're scoffing well, I have a note that says people are going to blow off the good news and do what they want, which you know that's basically been a theme through the whole Bible. Yeah, even with the Jewish people, maybe especially with the Jewish people blowing off the word of God and doing what they want, and I feel like our society today is neck deep in doing what they want.
Speaker 1:Hmm, Neck deep in do-do what they want. Hmm, Neck, neck neck deep in, do, do what they want. Uh huh, that's my funny. That's my funny he's a do do. Um, yeah, I you know. Every generation says it's worse than the generation before.
Speaker 2:That's a song.
Speaker 1:It is.
Speaker 2:Every generation blames the one before no that's blaming the generation before.
Speaker 1:This is.
Speaker 2:The next generation is worse than the one before. You were close to the song you just got it wrong.
Speaker 1:But you know, I don't know if that's true or not, but as someone in their 50s, upper 50s, even mid to upper 50s, I would say that I feel like every generation has gotten worse. You know, people blame things like the iPad generation that's coming, but I don't know, it seems like it's worse.
Speaker 2:It feels like what is defined as right and wrong continues to get worse.
Speaker 1:Yeah, right, continues to be distorted more as time goes on. Right, I mean correct.
Speaker 2:Correct and that which is right is being said is wrong.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Like what we're doing right now. A lot of people would say it's wrong.
Speaker 1:How could it be wrong if it feels so right, Steve.
Speaker 2:I may be crazy, okay, but I just might be that lunatic you're looking for.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, we keep getting distracted by lyrics. So, steve? So we're talking about scoffers and scoffing. He's reminding him to uh that Jesus is coming back. Don't worry about these scoffers, they're going to scoff, um. So what are we supposed to do?
Speaker 2:Uh, let's see when are you.
Speaker 1:I'm right here in front of you.
Speaker 2:Look open your eyes are you going all the way towards the end?
Speaker 1:no, no oh, okay, I guess to know what we're supposed to do then, yes, okay. But because he goes into this long thing about explaining that the world was formed by water and of water, and then it was destroyed by water and that's being prepared for fire Mm-hmm, being prepared for fire Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:So if we look at modern science of cosmology, I think, there are several ways we could die by fire. Oh, I thought you were going to say that even in the scientist's creation of Earth, it started as a big ball of water. No, I wasn't going to go there, okay. I was talking about possible ends. Ah yeah, so I made a list oh cool A list of Ways to die by fire.
Speaker 1:Horrible Earth death of fire. Ways to die by fire Horrible.
Speaker 2:Earth death of fire. So the sun could go supernova, but that's like billions of years from now, if we believe science.
Speaker 1:All right, let me just say this about that it's one thing for the sun to go supernova. It's another thing for it to eject a huge mass of plasma out into space that might hit us.
Speaker 2:That's true, I did not put that one on the list, but that would be. I'll count it as a subset of one.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, I think that's a subset.
Speaker 2:We could have a large asteroid hit the planet and cause the atmosphere to become superheated to all the dust reentering from the impact, like they claim happened with the dinosaurs yep we could have global nuclear thermal war not unless we could not if we play tic-tac-toe over and over again with ai, that's true and prove that, uh, there's no winner exactly that's a reference to war games. For those of you that do not know, and it's a great movie.
Speaker 1:You need to see it.
Speaker 2:The original. I don't know about the remake.
Speaker 1:Was there a remake? No, see the original from the 80s.
Speaker 2:Global warming could reach the point of the extinction of the human race.
Speaker 1:All right, yep.
Speaker 2:Then there of course could be any sort of miraculous burning of the Earth.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, that's possible too.
Speaker 2:Or AI could take over and turn us all into batteries.
Speaker 1:That is a Matrix reference.
Speaker 2:It is and was a joke. That's not very funny.
Speaker 1:Oh, that was just a joke.
Speaker 2:This one, yeah, I don't think that's reality. Plus that's not really burning, unless you count yourself as burning out as a battery, plus the people that lived in the Matrix. They were pretty well off really.
Speaker 1:That's true.
Speaker 2:They had the lady in red.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and they could eat steak and stuff. Yeah, I mean, yeah, all right, all right, those are all good. Also, the one that you failed to mention is just the Earth itself, the magma from the core. You know we have volcanoes and stuff and Yellowstone, but that could kind of do a flip on itself. You know there's some theories that Mars has tons of water underneath its core that used to be on the surface. So I mean that's, people present this science as fact, which is always funny because they know more about Mars than they know about the Earth. But you know, that's one thing that could happen. Maybe it flips over that's a good point.
Speaker 2:We'll replace the ai takeover with that one you know what I actually like?
Speaker 1:the ai takeover one, I think that's there's no possibility. There's no burning in that, oh, you know what?
Speaker 2:Except that they do take a lot of power.
Speaker 1:And they might discover ways to burn us.
Speaker 2:So you mean like bad insults and stuff Burn. I don't think that's what Peter means here.
Speaker 1:No, that is not what I mean. Um, anyway, all right. So those are some good examples of how we're all going to be destroyed. Um, and then he talks about but don't overlook, this is you know where he talks about a day is a thousand, is a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day to God, all right. And here is something that I find somewhat controversial the next sentence. What so? It says the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you. What's the word? God is sovereign over all things, including knowing choosing you, steve. He chose me and he chose you. And Paul talks about God choosing us. Now, you know Predestination, predestination, predestination, yes, but I also believe in free will.
Speaker 2:so there is a, uh, a contradiction for those that don't know, that's a movie about a whale that's held in captivity and they attempt to free will.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, no. This in this case, we're not talking about a movie, steve. We're talking about not free willy, we're talking about free will. Um, who's a different person? Um, no, free will, our own, uh. We have our own, uh, ability to choose what we do, and I don't understand how it works. That's all I can say. But I believe we do have free will. I do think there is some predestination thing that I don't understand how it fits in, but this statement makes you think maybe it's not that everyone is predestined, that we all, we have choices. Because he says the day of the Lord will come, no, no, no, I'm sorry, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. So it's like God is being patient, waiting, hoping that more will choose to repent. So what is your comment about that, steve?
Speaker 2:So, I believe God is outside of time, so he already knows everything, at least everything from our perspective. I don't believe there's anything outside of God, but from what I can see, he knows everything. He knows what I'll do tomorrow. He knows what I'll do 10 years from now. He knows when I'm going to die. I knew when I was going to be born, put the hairs off my head, counted all one of them. So his predestination could also be pre-knowledge of the decisions we'll make in our lives as to whether we will repent or not.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's why I say I think it's one of the great courses called, uh, einstein's relativity and the great quantum something, and anyway, in that it talks about space-time, um, and you know, I've never really understood space time and the reality is, from what science has observed is that space time is a thing, um, it is a, and which means to me it is a created thing. Um, so I think you're right about you. You know, when we talk about time and we think of it as being this linear thing that was always going and never ends, it's hard to imagine. How does God be beyond that? But when you look at science and what they're saying about time, you look at science and what they're saying about time, and time by itself isn't a thing, it's space-time and it changes. Time changes depending on what you do or where you're at.
Speaker 2:And your point of reference.
Speaker 1:And your point of reference.
Speaker 2:And I think God's point of reference is outside of all, outside of it. Yes, like if you got pulled into a black hole, would you ever really die? Because time would get so close to standing still that it would take forever that is?
Speaker 1:yeah, that is one of the things. Wow, you've studied this, haven't you?
Speaker 2:I've listened to other things, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's pretty interesting. As something approaches a black hole, it never gets there because time virtually stops. All right, let's see. Sorry, that thing had a pop-up on my screen. All right, well, let's go on. Yep, I think I'm moving, yeah, but anyway, I don't think it's really a um, a contradictory thing, a different perspective of God's patience with us. All right, but then it says you know he's patient, but he's not going to wait forever. Right, he says he's going to come like a thief in the night. And one interesting thing about that is you know you never expect the thief. That is, you know you never expect the thief. No matter how much you prepare, the thief will come when you're not expecting it.
Speaker 2:That's what he's saying. True, but that's why I got security cameras. That's true.
Speaker 1:And you know when the thief will come. When you forget to turn them on Yep, all right. And then we are waiting for the new heavens and a new earth.
Speaker 2:So I don't know what that means. What sort of people ought we to be?
Speaker 1:We ought to be, we ought to live holy and godly lives. Do we know what that means, Steve?
Speaker 2:We talked about it last time, or at least the maybe not last time. It was the time before. We talked about godliness and holiness. Well, godliness, I don't think we talked about holiness. I interpret it to mean trying to live more like Christ every day. I know that I won't reach that point, but that's why he died, so that I can go.
Speaker 1:Yep, and I think it can also be summed up in the two commandments we just talked about earlier right Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself, so that now, doing those things, steve, does that bring about salvation in itself.
Speaker 2:No, those are just signs.
Speaker 1:Right. So salvation is believing that Jesus came and died for our sins and that you accept that Jesus did that for you and he has taken away your sin, and that you believe that he died for your sins and was raised from the grave. Risen, risen from the grave, raised, arose, arose.
Speaker 2:Yeah, one of those things, all right I thought a rose was like a flower um man, there's another song right on the tip of my tongue anyhow, you should keep going why don't you read these last few verses steve the final words, if you would be quiet
Speaker 2:I would go ahead therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace, and count the patience of our lord as salvation, just as our beloved, beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable will twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people. All right, I think it's funny.
Speaker 1:What.
Speaker 2:It's funny that Peter also has trouble reading some of Paul's letters.
Speaker 1:I don't think Peter has trouble, but apparently some people use some of the things that Paul says. They'll take things out of context and use it for their own choices. Use it for their own choices. You know, when I was thinking about what that could be. There is, paul talks about the grace of God a lot, and so I know there are sects out there that say I said sects S-E-C-T-S. Steve.
Speaker 2:Or did you think I would have heard?
Speaker 1:I know what you were thinking. That anyway, they believe that once you're saved you can just do whatever you want because you've been saved now by grace, and so there could be some things like that.
Speaker 2:And you know what, paul is complicated sometimes he follows that up with the oh, I mean Paul. He has a verse or two that go directly against that.
Speaker 1:Oh sure, but that's the whole point, that people twist what he said and they'll just say a small thing, and you know what. People do that today too. Oh yeah, all the time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, name it, claim it, yep. They pull all sorts of verses oh yeah, all the time. Yeah, name it, claim it, Yep.
Speaker 1:They pull all sorts of verses, all right, but I really think it's cool, though, that Peter and Paul. Peter mentions Paul, and that makes me happy, because they're preaching the same scriptures, they're preaching the same grace and love of Jesus. Peter, paul and Mary. Okay, uh-huh, all right, let's see what else. Is there anything else you want to say?
Speaker 2:in that spot I didn't have much to say, in there, I don't have much there either, I don't have much there either. It's really sort of a what's salutation is the beginning, what's the final part? Farewell.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's well. What do they call it? I don't know. Anyway, I do want to say this, because one of the whole things about our podcast steve is I want people to read the bible. Right, that's the whole point, that you don't have to be uh, you don't have to have a degree in um theological studies to study the bible. Anybody can read the bible.
Speaker 2:You, you don't even know how to how to how? You don't even know. Have to know, you don't even know, have to know how to talk. You can say deluge or deluge.
Speaker 1:Yes, that's true, but it says let me read 17 again, because this is important. You therefore beloved knowing this beforehand. About that, people like to twist the word. Take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and you lose your own stability. And the only way you can do that, the only way for you to know if you go to a church somewhere and a preacher says something that you know is wrong, the only way you know it is wrong is if you have read the Bible and know what it says.
Speaker 2:And are in it daily.
Speaker 1:Yes. So that's my prayer for you guys that you would be in the word daily. You would not need to listen to a podcast of two idiots talking about the word, I was talking about us, steve.
Speaker 2:Oh.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're not that smart. That's just fast to us, steve. Oh yeah, we're not that smart. That's just a fact, jack, all right, anything else, steve?
Speaker 2:I'm just curious what's the next season going to bring?
Speaker 1:You know, I was thinking about that.
Speaker 2:I was thinking should we do an Old Testament book Ooh.
Speaker 1:That might be tough. It would be tough, good, it would be tough, but we could do something like um, I don't know, like esther, numbers. I don't want to do numbers. We could do genesis, though we could do uh genesis would take us, I know esther would be pretty quick, though, and it's. I love the book of Esther also.
Speaker 2:Anyway, good book, let's think about it.
Speaker 1:Let's, let's come up with something. Our next season, I think, should be old Testament, though.
Speaker 2:All right, sounds good.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, that's it, everybody. We are done. So you know, read your Bible, we are. I think we're going to skip next week, steve I agree, because I'm out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're out, all right, see you guys.
Speaker 1:The Regular Guys Bible Study is a Chasm LLC production. All rights reserved, See ya.
