2nd Peter
1:4,
“Whereby are
given unto us exceeding great and precious
PROMISES:
that by these
ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
The great battle of the new millennium is over the Word of God. All
across America theological scholars are trying to provide possible
solutions to the impossible miracles of God throughout the Bible. I get
upset when I hear so-called “scholars” say that the waters in Egypt
turned red from a volcano, and the frogs and locusts came upon Egypt
because the waters were contaminated from the volcano, and that the
fiery hail came from a volcano. What a bunch of horse-manure!
My friend, God is a miracle-working God. Jonah was swallowed by a literal whale. The sun literally stood still for a whole day as the Bible says (Joshua 10:13). Elijah was literally caught up into Heaven by a whirlwind. God literally parted the Red Sea and the Jews walked across on dry ground. According to the intelligencia, the Jews crossed at low-tide. Listen my friend, you either believe in a miracle-working God or you don't. As Christians we “walk by faith, not by sight” (2nd Corinthians 5:7). Our faith rests secure in the PROMISES of God. There are over 7000 PROMISES from God in the Bible!
The following quote is taken from the Introduction to Dr. Herbert Lockyer's (1886-1984) timeless Christian classic (published in 1962), All The Promises Of The Bible...
“It has been computed that there are 30,000 Bible promises. No indication is given as to how this colossal number is reached. Altogether, there are 31,173 verses making up the Bible; 23,214 verses compromising the Old Testament, and 7,959 — the New Testament. Doubtless this total of verses gave rise to the 30,000 — every verse being a promise.
The magazine Time, of Dec. 4, 1956, carried an item to the effect that schoolteacher Everet R. Storms, of Kitchener, Canada, reckoned the 30,000 figure to be off the mark. During his 27th reading of the Bible, this devout student tried to tally up the promises, a task which took him a year and a half. Storms [Everett R. Storms] came up with 7,487 promises by God to man, 2 by God the Father to God the Son, 991 by one man to another (such as the servants who promised to interpret king Nebuchadnezzar's dream), 290 by man to God, 21 promises were made by angels, one by man to an angel, and two were made by an evil spirit to the Lord. Satan made nine, as when he promised the world to Christ if He would fall down and worship him. Storms then gives us the grant total of 8,810 promises.
Scattered throughout the Bible are hundreds of definite explicit promises forming the category Peter names as "the exceeding great and precious promises" (II Peter 1:4).”
SOURCE: Dr. Herbert Lockyer, All The Promises Of The Bible, pg. 10; 1962
There are in fact 31,102 verses in the King James Bible! I don't know what Bible Dr. Lockyer used (I hope a King James Bible), but nevertheless, many websites are repeating faulty statistics. It could likely be that he relied on faulty data. Nevertheless, the subject at hand is the PROMISES OF GOD... Wow! 7,487 promises made by God to man. Isn't God a good God!!! We are so undeserving. God didn't have to make us even one promise, but He did.
No one wants to see us happy and blessed any more than God does (Romans 8:32). It's hard to grasp the reality of God's goodness sometimes in this dark and miserable world of sin. People have waxed worse and worse just as the Bible said. But if we set our affection on things above instead of the things of the earth as Colossians 3:2 commands, then we can have cheer (John 16:33), and joy, and comfort in the PROMISES OF GOD. My friend, we must anchor ourselves to the PROMISES of God to endure these dark times. That's the only way to make it!
Jesus prophesied that in the end times that people would betray and hate one another, turning them over to the Police State to be afflicted (Matthew 24:9-10). We are certainly living in those days now, and it's undoubtedly only going to get much, much worse.
ABC just debuted a New sitcom TV series called 'GCB' (Good Christian Bitches). That's the name of the show on regular TV. It's hard to imagine that America has sunk this low in sin. Same-sex marriage became legal in July of 2011 in New York state. In the month to follow, 1-in-4 marriages in New York were gay marriages. In the state of Wisconsin there are over 13,000 same-sex couples living together according to the 2010 census. Homosexuals nationwide can now legally tie-the-knot and marry in New York. God is not going to bless this ungodly mess we've allowed in America.
Children are being indoctrinated in public schools to come out of the closet that their proudly gay, and to hate those bigoted horrible mean Christians, and how to fist-sex each other by GLSEN in Massachusetts. God promises to punish the wicked in Isaiah 13:11, “And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”
We are living in dark days, evil times of woeful apostasy. It is man's authority verses God's Authority. If you side with men, you will be sorry on Judgment Day, because God's Authority will prevail. You can either build your house upon the sand as foolish men who disregard the Bible do; or you can build your house upon solid ground by obeying the Word of God (Matthew 7:24-27).
Matthew 7:24-27, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which BUILT HIS HOUSE UPON A ROCK: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which BUILT HIS HOUSE UPON THE SAND: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”
God has given to us exceedingly great and precious PROMISES...
2nd Peter 1:4, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious PROMISES: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
What a wonderful God! The power of God rests in the PROMISES of God. The demonic Charismatic Movement, and other apostates in the religious realm today, have taught the masses of humanity to trust in feelings and experiences; and to believe in a false health, wealth, and prosperity gospel of greed. These are of the Devil. The entire platform of New Age doctrine is rooted in feelings and experiences, experiential knowledge; rather than trusting in the character of God Who has given to us exceedingly great and precious PROMISES.
I KNOW I am saved and on my way to Heaven, having “eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, PROMISED before the world began” (Titus 1:2). God promises to save every ungodly sinner who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 4:5, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” For those who reject Jesus Christ, the only PROMISE that applies to you is suffering the eternal wrath of an angry God in the flaming fires of Hell (2nd Thessalonians 1:8-9; Revelation 21:8).
The power of God rests in the PROMISES of God. Even eternal life was PROMISED by God before the world began. Amen! Many believers put God on trial, becoming discouraged because God doesn't work in their time, the way they want Him to. Who are we or anyone else to say that it is always God's will for good things to happen, and health to improve, and prosperity to come? The Bible is packed full of real people with real problems, who had real faith in a real God. Don't fall for the fake Pentecostal religion of fruitcakes, twisted tongues-speakers, greedy TV preachers, and fraudulent healing services.
Good is a good God whether we are rich, or whether we are poor. God is still on His throne whether we have a job, or whether we are unemployed. God is still worthy of our praise whether we have good health, or whether we are crippled and suffer in chronic pain every day. God keeps His PROMISES to us, but it's not for us to decide how, when, nor where God works. God ways are not mysterious to God, but to men. Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
God is the Potter, and we are the clay. Isaiah 64:8, “But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.” Oh that men would trust in the Lord and lean not upon their own understanding (Proverb 3:5-7). God knows what He is doing. The unsaved world places God on trial, demanding irrefutable, documentable, incontestable proof that He exists and that the Bible is true; yet those same wicked people unquestioningly accept the bogus theories of Evolution, the scam of Global Warming, and the lies of Satan.
As believers our peace should rest in the PROMISES of God; and not in experiences and feelings that are uncertain, vulnerable, and constantly changing. If you truly live for Jesus Christ, then you will be persecuted in this sin-cursed world (2nd Timothy 3:12). The world will hate you for following Jesus Christ (John 15:19). But Jesus tells us to BE OF GOOD CHEER, because He has risen triumphant! John16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but BE OF GOOD CHEER; I have overcome the world.”
It is by obeying God's Word that we are able to claim the thousands of exceedingly great and precious PROMISES that God has given to us. This is where our joy and hope rests. Thus, it does not matter how we feel, nor if we see answers to our prayers or not, nor if things are going our way in life or getting worse; what matters is that we trust the HEART of God when we cannot see the HAND of God at work. God is not mentioned even once in the Old Testament book of Esther; yet we see God's hand of divine providence at work throughout. Amen!
God has PROMISED to guide us throughout life if we'll “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. (Proverb 3:5-7).
In Philippians 4:6-7 God PROMISES to give us peace to keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus if we'll “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
The Roman Catholic Church (which is no church at all) labors in the sinful TRADITIONS of men; instead of resting in the PROMISES of a holy God. A born-again Christian rests in the PROMISES of God for salvation, for guidance in life, for provisions, for comfort, for joy, for peace, for everything that we need. 'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
