2 Peter 2:13

13 And shall receive [komizo] the reward [misthos] of unrighteousness [adikia], as they that count [hegeomai] it pleasure [hedone] to riot [truphe] in [en] the day time [hemera]. Spots [spilos] they are and [kai] blemishes [momos], sporting themselves [entruphao] with [en] their own [autos] deceivings [apate] while they feast [suneuocheo] with you [humin]; KJV-Interlinear

13 suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, NASB

Our two primary groups for comparisons are the population of folks who lived in the generation immediately prior to the flood of Noah, and the group that lived in or near Sodom, during the time of Abraham.

Only Lot is mentioned by name, as a person who got caught up in his misguided choices. But he was spared from being destroyed in Sodom, and his wife came close to being delivered, but was not because she just had to look back, longing for the society of Sodom.

What did these two groups have in common?

Well, typically the sinners of the world are described as people who stay in the shadows of the night, pursuing their deeds, hoping to not be discovered.

The night is generally used in symbolism as a place of no wisdom, no doctrine, no relationship with God, or the dysfunction of ones spiritual life, if a person even has one.

The day is generally used in symbolism as the place of truth, of doctrine, of a relationship with God, and of a functioning spiritual life.

Here however, these two groups pursued their dastardly deeds in the open daylight. And this is the whole point that Peter is making.Their sins and attitude toward truth had gone so far overboard, that they no longer tried to hide their actions.

That the sins for the world and of society have become so great, that they have become commonplace and accepted as normal behavior.

People flaunt their sins.People flaunt their attitudes toward anything that smacks of honesty, integrity, objectivity and so forth. People become insulted when their beliefs are challenged, or when other beliefs are presented. People go out of their way to silence the opinions of others.People go out of their way to bring harm to those that do not agree with them, to those whom they simply do not like, to those who present a competition for them.

They carouse and buddy up, but not to become friends, but to take advantage and destroy anything and anyone they perceive as in their way, or perhaps anyone who has more than they do, or anyone who they believe has more than they deserve, or anyone that they have defeated in some way.

Our study of Matt. 24:38 and following, describes the attitudes of people in the end times, that is, our end times, just as the people in Noah s time were indifferent toward Noah s warnings, right up until the rain began coming down. People in the last generations of our day, will behave in the same way.

And we have certainly seen the steady decline of social norms and standards since the turn of the century in the 1900 s, and escalating even more rapidly in our current day since 2000. II Timothy 3:1-5, 7, goes on to describe the decline of basic manners and courtesy as well as other declines in social standards.

But again, the only defense against your falling into these destructive categories, is Bible doctrine. Doctrine is given to you so that you can properly discover yourself and identify your own weaknesses, and avoid them.

It is not given to you so that you can evaluate or critic others. That is Gods job.

The only reason that I mention the end times, is because we are obviously closer to the end times than we were centuries ago.Since our dispensation began at Pentecost, fifty days following Passover, in approximately 30 A.D., almost 1979 years have passed. Our dispensation will end when the Rapture occurs.

No one knows when that will be, but we have been given many signs that will indicate that it is getting near.Near does not mean tomorrow or next year, but within a few generations. We could certainly be a hundred years away from the Rapture.And if that is the case, then subsequent generations will slip further and further away from doctrine, and grow more and more bold in their anti-God attitudes and life styles.

Regardless of the end times or not, anyone who drifts away from God and truth, will adopt ridiculous, adversarial, indifferent beliefs and they will boast of their beliefs, fearing no one and certainly not fearing God or their ultimate judgment.

It wasn t too long ago that man thought the earth was flat.Not so.

That the earth was the center of the universe.Not so.

That our galaxy was the entire universe.Not so.

But as we discover more and more about the universe around us, if you are objective, then you begin to understand the vastness for Gods brilliance, knowledge, and wisdom. And, this entire environment, from DNA to the distant galaxies, was all invented, designed, and placed here for our benefit.

Don t get caught up in petty attitudes, or beliefs of tradition or habit, and allow them to get in the way of your spiritual growth.

Now is the time to post a prayer.