Zephaniah 1 - Sermon (2-24-13)

Zephaniah 1:1 - "The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah."

Zephaniah is not one of the better known books in the Bible. However, right at the outset of the book the Lord gives us a reminder that this is "the word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah." These are not the words of men but, in fact, the Word of God. There are certain sections of the Word of God that we tend to focus on, like the Psalms and Proverbs or the Gospels or maybe the book of Romans, and there are good reasons for that. But while we are familiar with certain portions and spend more time in one passage than another it's important for us to keep in mind that the entirety of the Bible is inspired by God and is profitable. When Paul was addressing the believers in Ephesus for the last time, he said to them in Acts 20:27 - "For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God." We remember in Luke 24, after the Lord Jesus had risen form the dead, He was walking with two disciples on the road to Emmaus and we read in verse 27 - "And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." Peter tells us concerning the prophets in particular in 2 Peter 1:21 that - "no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." And as I've already quoted, Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." So the Lord gives us a reminder through the prophet that this is His Word. "The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah."

Although not much is known about Zephaniah himself, we are told more about him than many of the other minor prophets. While many of the prophets either neglect their genealogy entirely or trace it back two or, at the most, three generations, Zephaniah traces his genealogy all the way back to his great-great-grandfather, Hezekiah, king of Judah. This means that Zephaniah had royal blood. He was a descendant of one of the kings of Judah. Because of his bloodline he would have been related to the king, and this would give him special access to him. We're told that he prophesied "in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah." Josiah was another good king, and we can find his story, as well as the historical context for this book back in 2 Kings 22-25 and 2 Chronicles 34-36.
Josiah was eight years old when he became king and he did right in the sight of the Lord. We read in 2 Chronicles 34:3-8 - "For in the eighth year of his reign while he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, the carved images and the molten images. They tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars that were high above them he chopped down; also the Asherim, the carved images and the molten images he broke in pieces and ground to powder and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. Then he burned the bones of the priests on their altars and purged Judah and Jerusalem. In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, even as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding ruins, he also tore down the altars and beat the Asherim and the carved images into powder, and chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem. Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah an official of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God." Josiah was so zealous for the Lord that he began a purging process throughout the whole land of Judah to rid the land of her idolatry and he even sent a large sum of government money to repair the house of the Lord which laid desolate during the reign of his father and grandfather who were wicked kings. During the repair of the temple, Hezekiah, the high priest, found the book of the Law in the temple and had it brought before and read to the king. When the king heard the words of the Law he was deeply grieved and tore his clothes and he sent his servants to inquire of the Lord saying in 2 Kings 22:13 - "Go, inquire of the Lord for me and the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for great is the wrath of the Lord that burns against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us." So his servants went to a prophetess by the name of Huldah, and we read in 2 Kings 22:15-20 - "She said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, thus says the Lord, “Behold, I bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath burns against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”’ But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord thus shall you say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, “Regarding the words which you have heard, because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the Lord. “Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.”’” So they brought back word to the king." In chapter 23 Josiah made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in the book. And all the people entered into the covenant. This chapter goes on to tell that Josiah continued to purge the land of it's idolatry and he reinstituted the passover, and during his reign there was great revival in the land. We read in 2 Kings 23:25-27 - "Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him. However, the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. The Lord said, “I will remove Judah also from My sight, as I have removed Israel. And I will cast off Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the temple of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’”" Josiah sought the Lord and served Him with his whole heart, and because of that the Lord told him that He would not carry out His wrath on the land until after Josiah's death. Josiah was a righteous man but the revival that came during his reign wasn't very deep. The people, outwardly, turned toward the Lord and served Him during the Reign of Josiah, however, their spirituality was more of a religion than a relationship. Josiah, and I'm sure some of the people, had a true relationship with God, however most of the peoples connection to God was severed at the death of Josiah. We read in 2 Chronicles 34:33 - "Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel to serve the Lord their God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the Lord God of their fathers." They served God while Josiah was alive, but they never had a personal relationship with God and so when Josiah died they no longer had any connection to God and so they fell back into the sins of their fathers.
It was during the reign of this king that Zephaniah prophesied. The Lord said that His wrath would be poured out on Judah and Jerusalem and that is the message that Zephaniah brings, a message of judgment.

Zephaniah, though it's a short book, has a heavy message. The message of judgment is never a popular one to hear but it is necessary. And though Zephaniah prophesies of coming judgment, he also looks through the judgment to a time of God's blessing. The obvious theme of Zephaniah is "the day of the Lord." Zephaniah uses this exact phrase seven times in the book and refers to it as "the day" or "that day" or "a day" at least thirteen more times. In a book with only three chapters we have at least twenty references to "the day of the Lord."
The day of the Lord is not to be confused with "the day of Christ" which is mentioned several times in the New Testament. The day of Christ is the time that the Lord Jesus will spend with His church in heaven during the seven year tribulation on the earth. The church, the bride of Christ, will be raptured before the tribulation and spend a seven year honeymoon with Christ while Gods wrath is being poured out on a Christ rejecting, sinful world. At the end of that tribulation period Christ will return to the earth and we will return with Him to rule and reign on the earth for a thousand years. The day of the Lord, however, begins with and continues through the tribulation period on earth. The day of the Lord refers to Gods judgment being poured out and continues through the destruction of the heavens and earth and the construction of the new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells. So the day of the Lord is a time of unparalleled judgment. Many of the prophecies in Scripture have more than one scope or dimension. In other words, many of the prophecies of Scripture have a double fulfillment. They have an immediate interpretation and application to the people during the time in which they were written and they also point to a future event in Gods plan and purpose. This is the case in Zephaniah. In speaking of the day of the Lord, Zephaniah is, first of all, pointing to the time of the Babylonian invasion and captivity that the Lord is about to bring upon His people in order to judge them for their sin, and secondly, he is pointing to the seven year tribulation period that will come upon the world in the last days in order to try those that dwell on the earth. Both to awaken the nation of Israel and draw them back to Himself, and also to judge the nations that have rejected Him. 

The book divides itself very simply into three sections. Zephaniah 1:2-2:3 deals with the Lords judgment of Judah. Chapter 2:4-3:8 deals with Gods judgment of the nations, and chapter 3:9-20 deal with Gods deliverance.

The Lords judgment of Judah:

Vs. 2-3 - "“I will completely remove all things
From the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
“I will remove man and beast;
I will remove the birds of the sky
And the fish of the sea,
And the ruins along with the wicked;
And I will cut off man from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord."

In These verses we see the scope of Gods judgment, who God will judge. He says that He will completely remove all from the face of the earth. The word translated 'earth' can either be translated this way, or it can be translated with the word 'land.' Some say that this refers directly to the land of Judah, but remember that there are two dimensions in view here. The next verses go on to talk about the judgment on Judah in particular so that is definitely in view, but there is also a time of judgment coming that will effect the whole earth, a judgment that will be as far reaching as the flood in the days of Noah. God says that He will completely remove all things from the face of the earth, including man and beasts, birds and fish, ruins and the wicked, and He will completely cut off man from the face of the earth. God is going to remove everything. Not just man, but the animal kingdom will also be removed. Why? We read in Romans chapter 8 verses 19-22 - "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now." All of creation has been affected by sin and so all of creation must be judged. And so God declares that He will remove all things from the face of the earth.

In Verses 4-6 we're given six specific groups that the Lord is going to cut off from the land of Judah in particular.

Vs. 4-6 - "So I will stretch out My hand against Judah
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place,
And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the priests.
And those who bow down on the housetops to the host of heaven,
And those who bow down and swear to the Lord and yet swear by Milcom,
And those who have turned back from following the Lord,
And those who have not sought the Lord or inquired of Him.”

These six groups that the Lord says He will cut off from the land can be divided into three categories. First, idolaters. Second, spiritual adulterers. And third, spiritual apostates.
The first group, the outright idolaters include the remnant of Baal, the idolatrous priests, and those who bow down to the host of heaven.
The remnant of Baal is the group of people that were involved in the worship of the false god Baal. Baal was the Canaanite god of fertility, and ever since Israel came into the land Baal worship was a cause of temptation for them. But the Lord declares that He will completely cut of the remnant of Baal.
He also says that He will cut off the idolatrous priests. These priests were instrumental in leading the people in their worship of false gods, and the Lord declares that these idolatrous priests who dressed themselves all in black and involved themselves even darker practices, denying the Lord and leading people to destruction, would be cut off from the land.
The Lord also declares that He will cut off those who bow down on the housetops to the host of heaven. There was a religion in the ancient middle-east known as Sabianism. It was the worship of the sun, moon and stars, and the belief that the movement of the heavens, the movement of the constellations and their prayers to these gods would alter their future. And this practice is still going on around the world today, even in America. It's been repackaged and labeled "astrology." But the Lord declares that because of this idolatrous practice judgment was coming, and those who practiced such things would be cut off.

The next group that the Lord declares that He will judge is - "those who bow down and swear to the Lord and yet swear by Milcom." These weren't outright idolaters, they gave lips service to the Lord, they swore by the Lord, but they were double minded. They were halting between two gods. They gave lip service to God and then they turned and swore by Milcom, or Molech. Molech was an Ammonite god, the worship of which included infant sacrifice. This group would do well to heed the words of Elijah the prophet to the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings chapter 18 - "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." It has been well said that the Christ is either Lord of all or He is not Lord at all. The Lord will not share your devotion with another. If the Lord is God serve Him. If you want Him to share His throne with someone or something else He's not going to do it. You decide who is on the throne in your life. From this we see that it's just as serious to be involved in outright idolatry as it is to halt between to opinions. The Lord says that both will be removed.

And the last two groups could be described as spiritual apostates. The Lord says He will cut off - "those who have turned back from following the Lord, and those who have not sought the Lord or inquired of Him." These people were not involved in idolatry or pagan practices. They simply denied the Lord altogether. They were what we might call 'agnostics.'  And the Lord declares that He will cut these people off as well.
The first three groups were outright idolaters, the fourth were double-minded, and the last two turned from the Lord and denied Him altogether. God says "I will judge." Who? Man, the land and everything therein. Why? Because of idolatry, spiritual adultery and spiritual apostasy.

The next section of the first chapter is verses 7-13 and in these verses we're given a more detailed account of the manner in which Gods judgments were to be carried out.

Vs.7 - "Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is near,
For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice,
He has consecrated His guests.

This is the first mention in the book of the day of the Lord, and He declares that this day is near. In the immediate historical context, Judah is the sacrifice spoken of in this verse and the Babylonians are His consecrated guests. The people of Judah were ripe for judgment and the Lord used the Babylonians to carry out His judgment. These verses describe the invasion of the Babylonians which would happen approximately 30 years after this was written, but the larger scope of this prophecy is the seven year tribulation period when God will pour out His wrath on a Christ rejecting, sinful world. There is another sacrifice spoken of in Revelation chapter 19. "The great supper of God." That;s what this verse is ultimately pointing to, and it is at this time that this verse will have it's complete fulfillment. At the end of the tribulation period, when all the armies of the earth assemble against the Lord He will call on the birds of the air to come and feast on the flesh of man and beasts. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests.
The prophet continues in the next several verses to speak about those that God will punish and the reasons for their punishment. Again, we have six groups and, again, they can be divided into three categories. In verse 8 the upper class in indicted, in verse 9 the lower class is, and in verses 10-12 the working class in indicted.

Vs. 8 - "Then it will come about on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons
And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments."

This is the upper class. The kings and princes, as well as all those who clothe themselves with foreign garments. The upper class is indicted for their materialism.

Vs. 9 - "And I will punish on that day all who leap on the threshold,
Who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit."

This is the lower class. They fill the house of their lord, or their master, with violence and deceit. The lower class, these slaves and servants were ripping off their masters and justifying themselves by saying that their masters had more and so they had every right to be deceitful about it.  But the Lord says that both the upper and lower classes are going to be punished. One for their materialism, the other for it's violence and deceit.

Vs. 10-11 - "On that day,” declares the Lord,
“There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate,
A wail from the Second Quarter,
And a loud crash from the hills.
Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar,
For all the people of Canaan will be silenced;
All who weigh out silver will be cut off."

In these verse the working class is indicted. The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. It's important to note the mad rush for silver in gold in the Bible in connection with the last days, and it's on account of this that the Lords judgment will come. The fish gate, the Second Quarter, and the Mortar are sections of Jerusalem where much of the business was conducted. There were markets and trading centers, the Fish Gate was so called because fish that were caught in the sea of Galilee would be brought in through this gate and sold in the market place. But the Lord declares "All who weigh out silver will be cut off."

Vs.12 - "It will come about at that time
That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
And I will punish the men
Who are stagnant in spirit,
Who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good or evil!’"

The Lord will search Jerusalem with lamps, not to find and restore the last coin, representing the poor lost sinner in Luke 15. But this time He is searching Jerusalem with lamps in order to flush out all who have been indifferent to His truth and have sought to remove God from His creation, say "The Lord will not do good or evil." The phrase "stagnant in spirit" is translated in the King James Version "settled on their lees." This is a term that has to do with the purification process of wine. Zephaniah prophesied at the same time as Jeremiah, and he uses the same phrase to refer to Moab. Jeremiah 48:11 says - "Moab has been at ease since his youth; He has also been undisturbed on his lees, Neither has he been emptied from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into exile. Therefore he retains his flavor, and his aroma is unchanged." Again, we have the idea of settling on lees, or dregs. The prophet also says that he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel. Back in the days of Jeremiah and Zephaniah, winemakers would take grapes and put them into the wine press and crush them. After they had crushed them and all the juice had come out they would put the wine into a vessel and let it sit until all the dregs and impurities settled to the bottom. After it settled the wine was then poured into another vessel and the dregs would be left at the bottom of the first. This would happen 5 or 6 times until the wine was completely pure. However, if they did not go through this purifying process, the wine would sit in it's dregs, it would settle in the lees and the good taste and smell of the wine would be ruined. If the wine settled on it's lees it would begin to take on the taste and the smell of the dregs. So in order for the wine to be good it had to be emptied from vessel to vessel. This was the spirit of the people in Jerusalem, and it's the spirit that characterizes much of the world and even the church today. Even the church today has become stagnant, lukewarm. And the Lord says to the Laodicean church in Revelation chapter 3 - "Because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." The Lord uses trials in our lives in order to keep us from stagnation. We begin to settle in our ways, we begin to get too comfortable and so the Lord will pour us. He'll allow trials to come into our lives to shake us up and we wonder what's happening, but God is using these trying circumstances to keep us from taking on a bad smell. 2 Corinthians chapter 2 tells us that we are the aroma of Christ to God in the world, and God doesn't want that aroma to be fouled up. This purification process of wine was a very exacting process. It had to be poured just at the right time. If it was poured too soon the dregs would still be in the wine. If it was poured too late the wine would take on the taste of the dregs. The Lords timing in the trials that He allows into our lives is absolutely perfect.
And this was part of His indictment of Jerusalem. The people became stagnant in spirit, they had settled on their lees because they had become too comfortable and had become indifferent to the things of the Lord. They began to say in their hearts "The Lord will not do good or evil." They didn't really believe that God was at work or actively involved in His creation, and so the Lord declared that they would be poured, because of their stench, their stagnation and the fact that they had become too comfortable. It's never Gods intention for us to grow comfortable, because for some reason when we are living a life that is undisturbed we begin to stray from the Lord. All throughout Israels history the Lord would bring in foreign nations to judge His people in order that they would turn back to Him. But when they were living in a time of peace and prosperity they would forget the Lord their God. Paul says to Timothy in Second Timothy chapter 3 - "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." It is through this persecution and the trials that come into our lives that the Lord purifies us and makes us more like Himself. Some of the most godly people throughout history, as well as the most godly people in our lives have one thing in common, they constantly endure trials. James tells us to - "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." Paul tells the Romans in Romans chapter 5 - "And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Peter compares the testing of our faith to gold that is tested by fire. A burning process that consumes all that is worthless in our lives in order to make us more like our Lord.
So God was about to allow Jerusalem to fall to the Babylonians, and He will soon allow severe tribulation on this world in order to pour out those who have settled in their lees, who have become stagnant in spirit. And verse 13 goes on to speak of this.

Vs. 13 - "Moreover, their wealth will become plunder
And their houses desolate;
Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them,
And plant vineyards but not drink their wine."

All that they are pursuing, the riches which they have made their pursuit, all that they have will be taken away in the day of the Lord.

Vs.14-18 - "Near is the great day of the Lord,
Near and coming very quickly;
Listen, the day of the Lord!
In it the warrior cries out bitterly.
A day of wrath is that day,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of destruction and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
A day of trumpet and battle cry
Against the fortified cities
And the high corner towers.
I will bring distress on men
So that they will walk like the blind,
Because they have sinned against the Lord;
And their blood will be poured out like dust
And their flesh like dung.
Neither their silver nor their gold
Will be able to deliver them
On the day of the Lord’s wrath;
And all the earth will be devoured
In the fire of His jealousy,
For He will make a complete end,
Indeed a terrifying one,
Of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Chapter 1 ends with a vivid description of the day of the Lord. It is near and coming very quickly. It's described as a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness and a day of trumpet and battle cry. These verses speak for themselves and it's near impossible in reading these things not to get an awesome picture of the day of the Lords wrath which is about to come upon the whole world to try those that dwell on the earth. In verse 17 the Lord gives the reason for the awesome judgment - "because they have sinned against the Lord." We must never try to justify sin or make it seem like a small thing. Sin is sin, small or great, and the wages of sin is death. The day of the Lord which is about to come is about to come on the earth is a time of Gods wrath being poured out on the whole world because of sin. And it's justly deserved. In fact, if God did not bring this day of wrath on the world He would not be just. And this coming judgment needs to be part of our preaching the gospel. Paul declared in his sermon on Mars Hill in Acts 17 - "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." The day of the Lord is coming, on that day He will judge the world in righteousness. Because of this He commands all men everywhere to repent.
This message of judgment is a heavy one and it's not very popular, but this is part of Gods plan. And even though Gods judgment is coming He still has offered us an escape if we'll take it. The Lord has promised that this time of judgment is coming, and He is not slow concerning His promise, but He is patient toward us, not wishing that any would perish but that all would come to repentance. We don't know when the Lord is going to return and the day of the Lord begin, but we know that it hasn't happened yet because God is patient and is giving men a chance to repent and turn to Him. Although that time must come, even in the light of coming judgment the Lord issues this call for repentance.

2:1-3 - "Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together,
O undesirable nation,
Before the decree is issued,
Or the day passes like chaff,
Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you,
Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you!
Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth,
Who have upheld His justice.
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
It may be that you will be hidden
In the day of the Lord’s anger."

The burning judgment of the Lord is about to come upon the whole world. The call for the unbeliever is to turn to the Lord, repent, humble yourself in the sight of the Lord. The only way any of us will escape this judgment is through Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ absorbed the wrath of God in our place when He hung on the cross and took the sin of the world on Himself. Even though the Lord recognizes that this nation is an undesirable one, there is nothing in mankind that is good, that there is no righteous and that the thoughts of mankind are only evil continually, In His great love where with He love us, even when we were His enemies, ungodly sinners, Christ died for us. The Lord must judge, that's true, but God has offered a way of salvation. Through this awesome judgment we see His unfathomable love, that Christ would take our sin on Himself in order that those who come to Him might be saved, and not only saved from the consequences of our sin, but we also get to enter into this relationship with our loving God and Creator.
But what for those who believe? How should we be living in light of these things? Peter gives us some application in 2 Peter 3:9-13, and I'll close with this.

2 Peter 3:9-18 - "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard lest being carried away by the error of unprincipled men you fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen."