THE THREE WORLDS
2 Peter 3:3 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: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 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. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 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? 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
There is as new a beginning here recorded in this passage in Peter, as much as there was the beginning recorded in Genesis 1:1. For the Apostle Peter said that this world of Noah’s was reserved by the same word of God as was the former world of Adam! This was the end of Adam’s world, the world that then was (v.6), and the beginning of Noah’s world, the heavens and the earth, which are now (v.7). Therefore that world of Adam has been destroyed, and we are presently living in the world of Noah with the same promises sustaining us as they did Noah in his day. (See Genesis 8:21,22, listed below.) Genesis 9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. 3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. 4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. 6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. 7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
And yet, there is a third world that shall supersede and overcome all others. Daniel 2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. 44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Daniel 7:18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. 22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
It is found in the thirteenth verse of that 2 Peter passage. It is the world of Christ – a world wherein dwelleth righteousness. And it began in this present world of Noah’s as Christ has noted! Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Isaiah prophesied of it. Isaiah 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
John saw it come down from heaven. Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
He was there with the other apostles and experienced it happening. Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, (“languages”), as the Spirit gave them utterance.
It is the spiritual, invisible kingdom of peace and joy in the Holy Spirit! Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Matthew 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For the gospel coming of Christ is a brilliantly shining and fast moving kingdom! And the gospel was also said to come down from heaven!
1 Peter 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
But now let us see that such judgment is God’s strange work. For he promises I will not again curse the ground… Neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. Yet, make no mistake! His holiness requires his justice, as well as His love! Isaiah 28:21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. 63:10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
Joshua 24:20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. Jeremiah 30:14 All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased. Lamentations 3:33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. Consider Luke 19:41-44, where the Lord did weep over Jerusalem, but did not fail to pronounce utter judgment upon it! For the Lord did destroy the city of Jerusalem! But he first wept over being forced to do so!
The World’s of Adam, Noah and Christ:
All three worlds began with a sacrifice in the vicinity of a garden. Abel sacrificed near the garden of Eden – Genesis 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Noah’s ark rested on Mount Ararat – Genesis 8:4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. Ararat “lies near the spring of the Tigris.” (Well’s Geography, Vol. 1, Chapter 2.) And the Tigris is the river Hiddekel of Genesis 2:14 that flowed from the river in the midst of the Garden of Eden.
Christ was sacrificed near a garden. John 19:41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. He was even mistaken for a gardener! John 20:15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener,…
All three worlds started with water. Adam’s – Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 2 Peter 3:5 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:
Noah’s – Genesis 7:19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. 20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. 8:13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
Christ’s – John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) John 19:34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
1 John 5:6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
All three worlds started with a blessing. Adam’s – Genesis 1:28. Noah’s – Genesis 9:1,2,7. Christ’s – Luke 2:13, 14, 20, 28; Compare 1 Timothy 6:14-16 to see Christ’s blessedness!
All three worlds started with different accountability. Adam’s – God directly protects Cain from capital punishment! Genesis 4:14,15. Noah’s – God lays the foundation for civil government to punish for him all murderers indirectly. – Genesis 9:5-6. See also Genesis 9:2b, 3b as God turns over all things into the hands of the human race! He holds the human race as a ‘brother’hood (v5), ‘for’ the protection of the image of God (v6). Read Romans 13:1-4.
The world’s of Adam and Noah were times of God’s ‘winking.’ Then as the world of Christ has arrived, we are given the “but now!” Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. We today are still in Noah’s world physically; but we have the invisible, spiritual world of Christ to which we must give account! See also Acts 14:15-17.
There is even a new ruling body for Christ’s world! – See 1 Corinthians 6:1-4; Revelation 20:4a
All three have sacrifices, but with differing benefits. Adam’s – Abel alone benefitted from his sacrifice, bringing respect to one man! Carefully read Genesis 4:4; Hebrews 11:4 and 1 John 3:12.
Noah’s – Genesis 8:20 ¶ And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. 22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. This sacrifice brought respect to all men for continued physical life!
Christ’s – His sacrifice brought respect to all God’s elect people! Hebrews 1:3, Romans 16:25,26. John 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10 And all mine (to redeem), are thine (in sovereign election – Ephesians 1:4), and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
All three had God’s wind and the waters. Adam’s – Genesis 1:1-2,9. Noah’s – Genesis 8:1. The Hebrew word, translated as the Spirit of in Genesis 1:2 is the same Hebrew word translated, the cool of in Genesis 3:8; which is the same word wind in Genesis 8:1. See also Exodus 14:21; Isaiah 11:15,16. Christ’s – Mark 4:39-41. gb
