PEACE THEN SUDDEN
DESTRUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Peace then sudden destruction was confirmed by Apostle Paul speaking of the coming day of the Lord: When they shall say, peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child (pregnant woman) (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
It was noted that the coming Day of the Lord, for the wicked, will be sudden; it will overtake them in the midst of their carnal security; when they say in their hearts, peace and safety (the slogans of the Roman Empire), and please themselves with ungodly amusements that fancies their senses, they will witness unavoidable destruction that shall come upon them.
Peace then Sudden Destruction
Flotation of Ungodliness
Jesus spoke a parable concerning the ground of a certain rich man bringing forth plentifully who thought within himself, saying, what shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow (store) my fruits (crops)? He said, this will I do, I will pull down my barns, and build greater, and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods (Luke 12:16-18).
We have witnessed the prosperity of the wicked engulf the land with the intent of building bigger and better their own methodology. The tools used have been the Internet, Television, Movie Industry, and other venues, to promote the ungodliness that has infiltrated the land. There has been the flotation of ungodliness experienced as in the pre-Flood days of Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, and Babylon the hold of every foul spirit, but in greater volume than could have ever been imagined.
Self-Gratifying and
Pleasure Seeking
In the parable of the rich man, it noted the satisfaction of what had been decided towards even greater wealth than previously experienced. Scripture reveals: The rich man said, I will say to my soul, Soul, you have much goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry (Luke 12:19).
Peace then sudden destruction, was noted by Jesus of the pre-Flood days of Noah; of the pleasure-oriented and self-gratifying eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and knew not until the flood came and took them all away (Matthew 14:28-29).
We are witnessing such with the same anticipation of the rich man’s sought after gain of additional wealth. As ungodliness flourishes one could become as Lot who was reported as being oppressed with the filthy conduct of the wicked, in dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing troubled his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds (2 Peter 2:7-8).
Labor in Vain
God’s response was reported in the parable of the rich man: God said to him, you fool, this night your soul shall be required of you; then whose shall those things be, which you have not provided? So is he that lays up treasures for himself, and is not rich toward God (Luke 12:20-21).
Those who labor towards self-satisfaction, and self-gain, will one day realize the vanity of it all; as reported by King Solomon: I looked on all the works (labor) that my hands had wrought (sought), and on the labor that I had labored (toiled) to do; and behold, all was vanity (futility) and vexation of spirit (a groping for the wind), and there was no profit under the sun (Ecclesiastes 2:11).
In closing, Solomon wrote: Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing (there is no secret unknown to him), whether it be good; or whether it be evil (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
Warning to the Church
Previously read text: When they say, peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail (labor) upon a woman with child (pregnant) (1 Thessalonians 5:3). It was noted that the Bible describes peace then sudden destruction with judgment coming upon the wicked, often while they are feeling secure.
While this describes judgment upon the ungodly; other scriptures provides warnings given prior to destruction. In the case of previously mentioned Babylon, scripture reports that a voice from heaven called out: Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues, for her sins have reached unto heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities (lawlessness) (Revelation 18:4-5).
In the case of the coming day of the Lord, Apostle Peter said: Beware lest you also, being led away from the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:17-18). Can this possible mean that some in the church have failed to live up to what Christ is coming back for: A glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27)?
Coming Destruction
Peace then sudden destruction infers a feeling of security that may not be well-founded as worldly and ungodly influences filter in and attempt to dominate. As previously mentioned, the pre-Flood days of Noah existed in such a condition when destruction overtook them in the midst of their pleasure-seeking, sin-filled, and violent mannerism.
The Apostle Peter told what transpired in such an environment: The world that then was (pre-Flood days of Noah), being overflowed with water perished; the heavens and the earth, which are now (today), by the same word (God Himself) are kept in store, reserved unto fire against (until) the day of judgment and perdition (destruction) of ungodly men (2 Peter 3:6-7).
Peter then identified as to why it has yet to happen: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise (destruction of the ungodly), as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Until the door is shut, towards salvation of the soul, as in the pre-Flood days of Noah (Genesis 7:16), and in the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:10), amply opportunity is afforded towards salvation of the soul.
Thief in the Night
Apostle Peter declared: The Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night (totally unexpected by many); in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heart (effects of a nuclear bomb as well), the earth also and the works therein shall be burned up (2 Peter 3:10).
Peter who declared that a flood had destroyed all human life, except those in the ark of safety (eight souls), then declared that the earth will be destroyed by fire bringing judgment upon the ungodly.
Believers in Christ
The Apostle Peter noted: Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved (destroyed), what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation (conduct) and godliness. Looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and he elements shall melt with fervent heat (2 Peter 3:11-12).
Nevertheless we (believers in Christ), look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness (what was intended for mankind from the beginning); wherefore, seeing that you look for such things be diligent that you may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless (what Christ is expecting when He returns for His Church) (2Peter 3:13-14).
No longer a peace then sudden destruction, as promised for the wicked, but lasting peace declared by the Lord Jesus to believers in Him: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives (only temporal not lasting), give I to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).
Love of God
Scripture reveals: God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son (the Lord Jesus Christ), that whosoever believes in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life (a heavenly abode) (John 3:16). Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13). Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is no other name under Heaven whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
Peace then sudden destruction is a reality to those who are feeling secure in the salvation of the soul, without Jesus being one’s Lord and Savior. Today is the Day of Salvation, tomorrow may be too late; when one stands before God; it will be the atoning blood of Christ being applied that cleanses one from their sins (1 John 1:6-7).
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