August 9, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Mourning and Confidence

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Mourning and Confidence

Matthew 24:26-31 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁶ “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

²⁹ “Immediately after the distress of those days

“‘the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

³⁰ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

What should you do if someone tells you “there he is, out in the wilderness” (verse 26)?

How should you react if some tells you “here he is, in the inner rooms” (verse 26)?

How will the “coming of the Son of Man” be (verse 27)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean by “wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather” (verse 28)?

When will the sun be darkened, the moon not give its light, the stars fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies be shaken (verse 29)?

Where will “the sign of the Son of Man” appear (verse 30)?

How will “all the peoples of the earth” react when the see “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory” (verse 30)?

What will He send his angels “with a loud trumpet call” to do (verse 31)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Isaiah 34:1-4 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Come near, you nations, and listen;
    pay attention, you peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
    the world, and all that comes out of it!
² The Lord is angry with all nations;
    his wrath is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy them,
    he will give them over to slaughter.
³ Their slain will be thrown out,
    their dead bodies will stink;
    the mountains will be soaked with their blood.
⁴ All the stars in the sky will be dissolved
    and the heavens rolled up like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall
    like withered leaves from the vine,
    like shriveled figs from the fig tree.”

Who is supposed to “come near” and “listen” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why does Isaiah say “let the earth hear, and all that is in it” (verse 1)?

How does the Lord feel about the nations and the armies (verse 2)?

What will the Lord do to the nations and the armies (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does Isaiah want to point out when he says “their dead bodies will stink” (verse 3)?

What will “be soaked with their blood” (verse 3)?

What will happen to the “stars in the sky” (verse 4)?

How will the heavens be treated (verse 4)?

How will the “starry host” fall (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does reading Isaiah 34:1-4, the passage that Jesus quotes from in Matthew 24:26-31, help us to understand more about why the people of the earth will “mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory”?

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

Why does Paul not want his “brothers and sisters” to be “uninformed about those who sleep in death” (verse 13)?

What does Paul say “we believe” about Jesus (verse 14)?

What does Paul say “we believe” about those “who have fallen asleep in him” (verse 14)?

Who will not precede those who have fallen asleep (verse 15)?

Where will “the Lord himself” come from (verse 16)?

What will happen first after the “loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God” (verse 16)?

What will happen “after that” (verse 17)?

Where will the meeting with the Lord take place (verse 17)?

In your opinion, how can we use “these words” to “encourage one another” (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does the fact that “Jesus died and rose again” that Paul points to in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 alter the grim prophecy of Isaiah 34:1-4 that the Lord’s anger with and destruction of the nations?

In your opinion, how can the mourning of “all the peoples of the earth” that Jesus predicts in Matthew 24:26-31 and the encouragement that Paul offers in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 both be about the same event?

1 John 4:7-18 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Why are we to “love each other” (verse 7)?

What does John say about “everyone who loves” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, how can John say that “whoever does not love does not know God” (verse 8)?

How did God show His love among us (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why does John say “this is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (verse 10)?

Why should we love each other (verse 11)?

What happens “if we love one another” (verse 12)?

How do we “know that we live in him and he in us” (verse 13)?

In your opinion, how does love being complete among us allow us to “have confidence on the day of judgment” (verse 17)?

Why does perfect love drive out fear (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does the information that Paul gives in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 to help Christians not grieve but have hope and Johns discussion in 1 John 4:7-18 of love and about how “love that is made complete among us” so that we can “have confidence on the day of judgment” give Christians a reason to anticipate instead of fear that day?

In your opinion, how is the fear and intimidation that is created by Isaiah 34:1-4 altered by the love that John explains in 1 John 4:7-18?

In your opinion, how does your understanding of Jesus’s statement that “all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven” in Matthew 24:26-31 change any when you consider John’s discussion in 1 John 4:7-18 about love and the statement that “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.”?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Isaiah, 1 Thessalonians and 1 John show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 24:32 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 2, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Spirit of Falsehood and Spirit of Truth

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Spirit of Falsehood and Spirit of Truth

Matthew 24:15-25 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. ¹⁸ Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. ¹⁹ How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! ²⁰ Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

²² “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. ²³ At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you ahead of time.”

Where will the “abomination that causes desolation” stand (verse 15)?

Who had spoken of the “abomination that causes desolation” (verse 15)?

What are those in Judea to do (verse 16)?

In your opinion, why would Jesus say that no one on the housetop should “go down to take anything out of the house” (verse 17)?

What are those in the field not to do (verse 18)?

Who will it be dreadful for (verse 19)?

In your opinion, why should the disciples pray that the flight “will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath” (verse 20)?

What will occur at that time (verse 21)?

For whose sake will the days be cut short (verse 22)?

How does Jesus say to react to those who say “Look, here is the Messiah!” (verse 23)?

What will the false messiahs and false prophets do (verse 24)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus say “see, I have told you ahead of time” (verse 25)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Daniel 11:28-35 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁸ “The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country.

²⁹ “At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. ³⁰ Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

³¹ “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. ³² With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

³³ “Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. ³⁴ When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. ³⁵ Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.”

Where will the king of the North go (verse 28)?

What will his heart be “set against” (verse 28)?

When willhe “invade the South again” (verse 29)?

What will happen when “ships of the western coastlands” oppose him (verse 30)?

In your opinion, why will the king of the North “vent his fury against the holy covenant” (verse 30)?

Who will the king of the North “show favor” to (verse 30)?

What will his armed forces desecrate (verse 31)?

In your opinion, why will the “abomination that causes desolation” be set up after the daily sacrifice is abolished (verse 31)?

How will he corrupt “those who have violated the covenant” (verse 32)?

Who will “firmly resist him” (verse 32)?

Who will “instruct many” (verse 33)?

What will happen to the wise “for a time” (verse 33)?

In your opinion, why would “many who are not sincere” join the wise when they fall (verse 34)?

Why will “some of the wise” stumble (verse 35)?

When will the “time of the end” come (verse 35)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does reading Daniel 11:28-35, one of the passages where Daniel talks about the abomination of desolation, help us understand what Jesus means when He tell us through Matthew to “let the reader understand” in Matthew 24:15-25?

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, ² not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. ³ Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. ⁴ He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

⁵ Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? ⁶ And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. ⁷ For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, ¹⁰ and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie ¹² and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”

Who does Paul want “not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us” about “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him” (verses 1 and 2)?

What are people asserting that Paul is saying about the “day of the Lord” (verse 2)?

Who does Paul say must be revealed before the “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him” (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why will he set “himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” (verse 4)?

What does Paul want the Thessalonians to do (verse 5)?

What is holding “our Lord Jesus Christ” back (verse 6)?

What is “already at work” (verse 7)?

When will “the lawless one” be revealed (verses 7 and 8)?

How will “the Lord Jesus” overthrow the “lawless one” (verse 8)?

How will “the Lord Jesus” destroy the “lawless one” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “the coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works” (verses 9 and 10)?

Why do the perishing perish (verse 10)?

What will God send (verse 11)?

Who will be condemned (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, does the promise of Daniel in Daniel 11:28-35 that “Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time” still apply in the time that Paul is talking about in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 about the man of lawlessness who “will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” help us to understand what Jesus said in Matthew 24:15-25 about the “abomination that causes desolation”?

1 John 4:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

⁴ You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ⁵ They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.”

How are we to react to the spirits (verse 1)?

Who has “gone out into the world” (verse 1)?

How do we recognize “the Spirit of God” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why is “every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus” the “spirit of the antichrist” (verse 3)?

Where is the “spirit of the antichrist” (verse 3)?

How have the children of God “overcome them” (verse 4)?

Why does the world listen to the “spirit of the antichrist” (verse 5)?

Who listens to John (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does John in 1 John 4:1-6 help us to understand how Christians will be able to avoid the “powerful delusion” that Paul says will be sent in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 to deceive who have “not believed the truth but delighted in wickedness”?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 1 John 4:1-6 help us to understand about what the wise that Daniel says in Daniel 11:28-35 will “instruct many” in?

In your opinion, how do the words of John in 1 John 4:1-6 help us avoid falling for the words and “great signs and wonders” of the “false messiahs and false prophets” that Jesus warned us about in Matthew 24:15-25.

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Daniel, 2 Thessalonians and 1 John show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 24:26 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 26, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – The Gospel and Love and Patience

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The Gospel and Love and Patience

Matthew 24:9-14 – New International Version (NIV)

⁹ “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ¹⁰ At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹ and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹² Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Why will those Jesus is talking to be “hated by all nations” (verse 9)?

What will many turn away from (verse 10)?

Who will appear (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why will “many people” be deceived (verse 11)?

Why will the “love of most” grow cold (verse 12)?

Who will be saved (verse 13)?

Where will the “gospel of the kingdom” be preached (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that Jesus says that “you will be hated by all nations because of me” and also that “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations”?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Isaiah 11:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
⁵ Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb,
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
    and a little child will lead them.
⁷ The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
⁸ The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

¹⁰ In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.”

What will the Branch that comes up from the roots of Jesse bear (verse 1)?

How will the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, and knowledge and fear of the Lord be provided to the Branch from the roots of Jesse (verse 2)?

What will He not judge by (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to judge the needy with righteousness and to give decisions for the poor with justice (verse 4)?

Who will live with the wolf (verse 6)?

Who will lead the calf, the lion and the yearling (verse 6)?

What will the lion eat (verse 7)?

Where will the infant play (verse 8)?

Why will they “neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain” (verse 9)?

When will the “Root of Jesse” stand as a banner for the peoples (verse 10)?

Who will rally to him (verse 10)?

What will his resting place be (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does Isaiah in Isaiah 11:1-10 in his discussion of the Root of Jesse becoming a “banner for all nations” and that “nations will rally to him” anticipate what Jesus says in Matthew 24:9-14 about “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations”?

1 John 3:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. ⁶ No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”

How can we “see what great love the Father has lavished on us” (verse 1)?

Why does the world not know us (verse 1)?

What are we now (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why has “what we will be” “not yet been made known” (verse 2)?

Who will we be like (verse 2)?

What do “all who have this hope in him” do (verse 3)?

Who breaks the law (verse 4)?

Why did Jesus appear (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why does it show that someone who continues to sin has not seen Christ (verse 6)?

What warning does John give to his “dear children” (verse 7)?

Who has been sinning from the beginning (verse 8)?

Why did the Son of God appear (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what is the link between John’s statements in verse 5 “you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins” and in verse 8 “the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work”?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does the promise of Isaiah 11:1-10 that “the wolf will live with the lamb” mesh with the promise in 1 John 3:1-8 that “when Christ appears, we shall be like him”?

In your opinion, how can the intimidating statement of Jesus that “you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me” in Matthew 24:9-14 and the uplifting statement that John makes in 1 John 3:1-8 that “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God” both be true?

2 Peter 3:8-15 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹² as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³ But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.”

What one thing are we not to forget (verse 8)?

Why is the Lord patient (verse 9)?

How will the “day of the Lord” come (verse 10)?

In verse 10 what will happen to:

The heavens?

The elements?

The earth and everything done in it?

In your opinion, why does Peter link everything being “destroyed in this way” with “you ought to live holy and godly lives” (verse 11)?

What will the “day of God” bring about (verse 12)?

Where does righteousness dwell (verse 13)?

How should we attempt to “be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him” (verse 14)?

What means salvation (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does Peter’s statement “Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” in 2 Peter 3:8-15 help us to understand about the “great love the Father has lavished on us” that John talks about in 1 John 3:1-8?

In your opinion, how does this passage in Isaiah 11:1-10 “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him” anticipate “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” in 2 Peter 3:8-15?

In your opinion, how does Peter’s statement “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation” in 2 Peter 3:8-15 help us begin to understand what Jesus intends when He says “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” in Matthew 24:9-14?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Isaiah, 1 John and 2 Peter show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 24:15 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)