Peter
on the Great Controversy
Stephen
Terry
Commentary
for the March 12, 2016 Sabbath School Lesson
“But you are a chosen people, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the
praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1
Peter 2:9, NIV
Many Christians are familiar with the story of Noah’s
Ark and the associated flood.[i] Mankind had given
themselves completely over to evil, so God decided to destroy the world with
water. Because Noah alone was righteous, God chose to save him and his family.
In order to do that he instructed Noah to build an ark that could contain him
and his sons along with all of their spouses. In addition it would house a seminal
group of animals to repopulate the Earth. According to one account, he took one
pair of each animal onto the Ark.[ii] However a slightly later
account increases that number by stating there were to be pairs of the unclean
animals, but the clean animals were to be saved by seven pairs.[iii] These kinds of internal inconsistencies
within stories have caused theological scholars to question whether or not
there was more than one writer involved, perhaps trying to correct the text by
harmonizing with something written elsewhere. But in turn they created
disharmony within the story. In this instance, perhaps someone realized that if
there was only one pair of each animal that would present a problem when Noah
offered animal sacrifice after leaving the Ark.[iv]
This did not resolve all issues regarding the animals,
however. Noah and his sons were given permission after the flood to eat every
kind of animal. This makes sense, as it would naturally be some time before the
first harvest of anything they planted. It may seem strange to some that God
would find it necessary to grant permission for mankind to eat animals, but in
the Creation Story of the first chapter of Genesis, mankind and all of the
animals were apparently only given a vegan diet.[v] Just as in the first
account of how many creatures were to enter the Ark, no distinction was made
between clean and unclean when meat was added to the diet.[vi] There may have been a
practical reason for this. It may have been necessary to allow enough breeding stock
of the herd animals to survive without becoming too inbred. It may have meant
that some of the unclean animals would become extinct, but perhaps that was not
a huge concern. Mankind has since driven many, many species to extinction by
overhunting. Whatever was eaten or not eaten, whatever was sacrificed or not
sacrificed, a greater story lies behind this more obvious one. That story is
not changed by the inconsistencies, but it is often missed, even by the
diligent.
That greater story is that God may have intended to save
the entire world. Too many see the story of the flood as being prima facie evidence that God wants to destroy
mankind when he steps out of line, but first impressions are not always right.
Some may respond that of course God wanted to save everyone. Noah spent well
over a century building the Ark and calling for people to seek salvation.
However, they also point out that the Ark could not possibly hold the entire
Earth’s population. Therefore, God knew that they would not be saved. But the
Ark may have been too small for a reason. Maybe salvation would have been
possible if only a handful had repented.
When we consider the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, we see
how this might have been. Abraham negotiated with God over the destruction of
Sodom, where his nephew Lot lived with his family.[vii] God finally agreed to
spare the city if ten righteous people lived there. Perhaps we can see the parallel
between this story and the flood account, especially when we realize that in
each instance ten righteous people could not be found. It begs the question of
how many more righteous people would have prevented the flood. Perhaps the
deaths of Methuselah and Lamech shortly before the flood became the tipping
point. As sad as it may be that so few wish to follow God by adhering to His
commands, how much more poignant is it when in spite of freely offered grace
after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, so few have availed
themselves of that opportunity. We read in Acts of the Apostles that on
Pentecost, thousands came forward and initially pledged faithfulness to God.[viii] But as time wore on,
cares of this world became more important to some. They even began to question
whether the promised return of Jesus is a real event.[ix]Peter tells us that in
doing so, they even “forget” or perhaps denied the events that led from the Creation
Story through the Flood Account and how God has not failed to fulfill the
prophecies of the past. Therefore He can be trusted to fulfill them now.
Peter tells us that we are a “royal priesthood,” but if
we turn from the story that brought us to this point, then what point is there
to our priesthood? The Aaronic priesthood with its human high priest was a type
that foreshadowed the antitypical Melchizedekian priesthood with Christ as High
Priest.[x] It would seem to follow
then that if we are royal priests during the period of the Melchizedekian order
that we would be priests of that order and not of the Aaronic order. As the
antitype is always more real and therefore greater than the type that foreshadowed
it, so is the latter priesthood greater than that of Aaron’s Levitical order.
Aaron and all who followed him had a great privilege. They were to prepare the
world for the incarnation. Nonetheless very few were prepared, and Jesus was born
unrecognized by the very priesthood that should have been the first to
acknowledge Him as Messiah. Perhaps this is behind Christ’s concern that at His
return no one would be awaiting Him.[xi] Will we be able to
maintain the humility necessary to be led by the Holy Spirit, finding salvation
for ourselves and sharing it with others, or will we instead find ourselves so
completely engrossed in the affairs of life that we even fail to be prepared
for the Parousia?
Peter saw lessons in the flood instructive for us today,
but he was only echoing what Jesus had said before. Christ had taught His
disciples that just as the cares about life’s normal events and requirements
caused so many to miss their opportunity in Noah’s day, so it would also be the
same at the Second Coming.[xii] Peter further pointed
out that any delay in the Parousia was because of God’s mercy and willingness
to save all.[xiii]
What may be a paradox though, is that some Christians wish to proclaim the
gospel to the world to hasten Christ’s coming. This may be based on what Jesus
said to His disciples about the gospel being preached everywhere before He
returns.[xiv] But if we consider the
cases of the Flood and the destruction of Sodom, God may come either in
judgment or in grace. In those instances, judgment was perhaps hastened by indifference
to the proffered salvation not by the conversion of the lost. Had the lost
repented and sought to restore their lost relationship with God, those acts of judgment
might have been mitigated to the saving of the city of Sodom in Lot’s day, or
the saving of the entire world in Noah’s time. As a result, the spreading of
the Gospel may be more likely to extend probationary time rather than hasten
its close.
As Christians, we truly are the “salt of the Earth.”[xv] We may be all that stands
between the lost and judgment. If we lose sight of the importance of our
priesthood, if we fail to “stand between the living and the dead”[xvi] with the incense of
Christ’s grace there remains only judgment. Therefore at the risk of prolonging
time until Jesus returns, we act as the agents of God’s mercy and rejoice that
a merciful God allows us to continue this privileged work that as many as
possible might be saved. While it may be tempting to get caught up in what
might be signs of Christ’s return that is not our responsibility.[xvii] We have been given a
commission[xviii]
that may prolong that wait, but however long it takes, that commission is to be
honored up to the very end. It requires a loving heart to have that kind of
commitment. Fortunately, God can give us that heart.[xix] We only need to turn
from our sins and toward Him. With repentance, baptism and the receipt of the
Holy Spirit as promised, we will find our heart changing as it begins to
reflect the compassionate character of God.
