We are living in the generation that is spoken of here, the generation living in the time of the parable of the fig tree. This is talking about those that are not in the dark concerning their understanding of His Word. Do you see the light of God's truth from His Word? If you understand you will see that the thing that makes Jesus Christ a stumbling block is that upon the coming of the false christ, Satan, who is the Antichrist [instead of Christ], those that are without the oil or truth of God's Word will accept Satan as the true Christ. They are the five foolish virgins of the parable of Matthew 25. If you accept the tradition of the fly-away people called the "rapture doctrine" or "any moment doctrine, then you have not prepared yourself for the time of Satan, and you will be deceived.

Those living in our generation, that know the truth and are sealed in their mind with the Word of God, they are that "royal priesthood, and the holy nation". We are a peculiar people that will stand out from all the rest. However, the entire world, those who do not study to show themselves approved, will chase after Satan the false christ when they see his miracles and supernatural powers that God will give to him at that time. It is God that has called you out to be in the truth and knowledge of His Word. If you understand it, it is because His Holy Spirit has revealed it to you.

What Peter is speaking of here in I Peter 2, comes from Isaiah 28.

Isaiah 28:9 "Whom shall He teach knowledge? and whom shall He make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts."

God is going to use those Christians that have read the basics of true milk of His Word, those that He can trust to be faithful in following it.

Isaiah 28:10 "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:"

There were false prophets at Isaiah's time also, and Isaiah is actually mocking them a little here. Those false prophets know how the Word is to be taught and they run around sputtering the thought, yet they are ignorant of teaching it.

Isaiah 28:11 "For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this People."

God is telling you that if you do not study His Word as He has taught, line upon line and precept upon precept, He will turn you over to those with stammering, or jabbering lips. Those are the ones that ramble on, and in the end have nothing to say, it is like those mumbling in their tongues today. They will speak in a language that you just can't understand. They sound like they are holy and religious, but they are peddling non-sense.

Isaiah 28:12 "To whom He said, "This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest and this is the refreshing:" yet they would not hear."

They refuse to listen to the Word of God, but preferred to listen to the traditions of men.

Isaiah 28:13 "But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken."

The thought of this is that we do not listen to one with jabbering lips, where knowledge and wisdom for God's Word cannot be understood. Before you start into the meat of the Word, you must first be weaned from the milk of the Word. Coming down hard on a new born believer will over-power them, and in the end sound like jabbering to them. The new believer will be without any sound understanding. We must build understanding of the plan of God like building blocks in their minds, brick upon brick, line upon line, and precept upon precept.

Isaiah 28:14 "Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this People which is in Jerusalem."

This goes especially to the people of today, for we are living in the time of the parable of the fig tree, which has come to reality. The Jews, both the good and bad figs, have returned to Palestine [Judah], they have established themselves in Jerusalem. That event started the final generation and Jesus warned us of this in Matthew 24:32-34.

Matthew 24:32 "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When the branches is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:"

Jeremiah 24:1 tells us of the two baskets of figs that came back to Jerusalem in the end times to be set up before the temple there. The basket of good figs were the people of Judah [God's people], while the basket of bad figs were the Kenites that had infiltrated within their nation, to become part of them. These Kenites were the offspring of Cain, the son born through the sexual union that took place between Satan and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Today people entertain themselves with fairy-tales about apples, and all sorts of things concerning this act, and that is why they remain ignorant to much of the Word of God.

The Kenites today calls themselves Jews and of Judah, however they are the tares that were planted in that parable of Matthew 13, in the parable of the tares. This parable of the tares is explained by Jesus to His disciples in Matthew 13:38-41. The return of these two baskets of figs to Jerusalem happened way back in May, 1948, when they established the tiny nation of Israel. So this return would be just prior to the coming the Nebuchadnezzar which was a type of Antichrist of the end times. That king of Babylon of the Book of Revelation is Satan and he is the Antichrist.

Matthew 24:33 "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."

From the day of the returning of the good and bad figs to Jerusalem in 1948, to now, many of the end time prophetic events of the Bible have happened. they are history to us living today.

Matthew 24:34 "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these thing be fulfilled."

This is Jesus Christ telling our generation that has seen the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, that all the prophecies concerning His return will have happened before His return. There is no fly-away, so you had better start preparing yourself for the time of the great deception, and know how to tell the difference between the two Christs and their advents. It is our Lord Jesus Christ that has told you to learn the parable of these events. .

Isaiah 28:15 "Because ye have said, "We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:" "

Death and Hell is Satan, the false christ. Have you made a covenant with him in ignorance? The covenant with Satan is the believing in false doctrines and man's traditions, taught in most so-called Christian churches, that go against the Word of God.

Isaiah 28:16 "Therefore thus saith the Lord God, "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste."

Make haste to do what? Those that believe in that chief corner Stone Jesus Christ, know the difference between the two christs, and they will "not make hast" and be deceived when the first christ (Satan) comes on the scene. They know it is Satan, and that they shall not see the True Christ while still in their physical flesh and blood bodies. The time of the tribulation or great deception must come first, that is the great apostasy, or "falling away" that is spoken of by Paul in II Thessalonians 2:3 and 4. Satan must sit in the side of the north in Jerusalem, and much of the entire world will worship him as Jesus Christ. When He declares himself to be God, which is the "abomination of desolation" [by the desolator], the world including most of the religious leaders will believe him.

Isaiah 28:17 "Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall over flow the hiding place."

The waters that shall overflow the people at the coming of Satan, in his role as the antichrist, are the flood of lies spoken of in Revelation 12:16; "And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth."

This flood happens when Satan and his angels are cast out upon the earth, and the time of Daniel's prophesies take place. It is that three and a half years that have been shortened to five months, by Jesus, when the entire earth shall worship Satan, thinking he is the the True Christ. The "waters" are the lies that the people have made a covenant with through their false doctrines, to fly them away to another place, and those very lies are what will swallow up in a flood, the people of this earth. The first woman taken in the field is taken by the false Christ, and that is why "he that believeth shall not make haste".

The preparation for this time is happening right now, as not only the rapture doctrine, but many other false religious forms are springing up. These false doctrines are drawing the people of the world that reject God's entire Word to them. They are making their covenant with death and hell, which are roles that Satan will play. This is what Peter is talking about in this verse. The milk of the Word leads you to understanding your salvation, while the meat of the Word prepares you to stand against the fiery darts of Satan, and all the deception that shall come in our generation.

I Peter 2:10 "Which in times past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy."

I Peter 2:11 "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;"

This verse is directed at our keeping our minds focused that there we have two different natures, that of the soul or spiritual, and that of the flesh. If you do not yield yourself to God, your flesh will still act up, and do the things that are of your flesh nature. We are to take control over that flesh body, and all the lusts that come with it. There is a war going on within your own body, and the flesh nature is continually warring against your soul that is of the new nature. There are two bodies and two natures of a true Christian, and we are to know which is which, and give control to our inner man or soul.

If you allow the flesh part of you to take control, it will let you down and give you bad thoughts. The bad thought is not a sin, but yielding to that bad thought and allowing yourself to act upon it is a sin. It is your soul that our Heavenly Father is concerned with.

I Peter 2:12 "Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you a evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation."

There are two parts to this verse. In the first place, this verse is written to those that were scattered amongst the strangers or Gentiles. Those people are of the ten tribes of the House of Israel, and a part of the House of Judah, that were scattered by the Assyrians between 744 and 722 B.C. They migrated through the Caucasus mountains, and scattered through out Europe and the Americas. We know them today as "Caucasians" after the event of their migrations. The second group that is addressed are to the "elect", those that have been brought from the darkness into the light by the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

God is telling us that no matter which of these groups you belong to, the house of Israel, or the elect, When you claim to be a Christian, then show it in your good works. Those works are demonstrated by your words and deeds, and are a reflection of our Heavenly Father that on that day of visitation, the day of Jesus Christ return at the seventh trumpet, Jesus will be glorified by them. The Gentiles may not want to hear one word about Christ, but if they see what you do and the care of oyhers that you give, that alone will show them that you are a good Godly person. This is not talking about perfection in yourself, but following good common sense, in accordance to the Word of God. Once you set that standard in your life, people will allow some errors in your life, they know that you are human.

I Peter 2:13 "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;"

We are to follow all the laws of the land that we live in, for the Lord's sake. In our land we have freedom of religion, and as long as we obey the laws of this land, our country must guarantee our right to speak and practice our religious beliefs. The laws of the land will also protect us while we are doing it. However if you disobey the laws of the land, they you pay the price for your disobedience. If you run a stop light and are caught, you pay the fine. When you commit a murder, then you are tried, and suffer the punishment that the court brings upon you. Whether under a king or a republic, a Christian must obey the laws of the country that they are in.

I Peter 2:14 "Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for punishment of evildoers and for the praise of them that do well."

As long as you strive to do good in your works, and your deeds are right, the governors and those in charge will see to it that you have your rights. Paul talked about this in Romans 13.

Romans 13:1 "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God."

Every government body that is set up and is in existence in this world is ordained, which is allowed and controlled by God. That government is allowed to exist in the fulfillment of God's plan, whether it be of Israel, the communists, Babylon, or any government. God sets governments up, and God brings them down.

Romans 13:2 "Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation."

When God sets up a nation or government, and you live under that nation or are a visitor within that nation, as a Christian we are to obey the laws of the land.

Romans 13:3 "For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be aftaid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:"

This is what Peter was talking about. The rulers of any land desire to see the affairs of his people taken care of, and when you seek to do good works within his land, you have nothing to be afraid of. It is only when you do evil, break the laws of the land and cause a disturbance that the terror of his judgment must be feared.

Be very careful of the ones that you listen to that are unlearned of the Scriptures. Many Christians say that we should not pay taxes, because of the uses that it is use for. However, taxes are the law of the land, and when the governmental body levies a tax for any purpose, if we live in the land, we are to pay the taxes that have been ordained by that government. That is a requirement by God.

Remember that Daniel was the number one tax collector in Babylon, the empire that God Himself relates to the kingdom that Satan shall set up in the end times. Daniel ran the system that brought in the money that subdued God's people, and that money ran the system. Yet at the same time that Daniel was over that system, he still was obedient to God in the matters that related to his soul. Even the king of Babylon, king Nebuchadnezzar appointed him to be over the kingdom as chief tax collector. Obey the laws of the land, as long as it doesn't restrict you from your worship of our Lord.

I Peter 2:15 "For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:"

It is God's will that you do this, that by your doing this you will put to silence the traditions of men. Most people do what they do, and say what they say because they were taught to do so. Grandma and grandpa did it this way, and because they did it, I know that it is right. That is what is meant by traditions. Traditions are those things that are done in ignorance, and not necessarily by the will of God. Before God, each person will answer for their own sins, and when you are biblically illiterate, you stumble around and offend our heavenly Father.

I Peter 2:16 "As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God."

It is important to understand this verse. The liberty or freedom spoken of here, is the freedom that we have in Christ. In that freedom we have the freedom to be free from the gilt of sin. That when we sin in word or deed, and we see that we have fallen short of His Word, we come to the throne of God in repentance, in Jesus name, and those sins are blotted out for God's heavenly records. Peter is saying that just because we have the right to be forgiven for our sins, do use that liberty as a cloke or covering for doing malicious acts. However, we should use that liberty in showing the lost that we are servants of God. God is telling us to never misuse the glory, power and blessings that God gives to you, but use them to the glory of God.

I Peter 2:17 "Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king."

Hold all men with esteem, and love the brotherhood of God's people. Give reverence to our Heavenly Father and to His Son Jesus Christ. Give honor to the authority that God has placed over you, for we must remember that God is in control of all governments, He sets them up, and He brings them down, in accordance with His Word. This honor and respect is even extended to all those in authority over you, in your family, church, your job and local community.

This goes a lot deeper then just lip service, for it instructs God's elect to take the knowledge and wisdom from His Word, and use it to lift up those around them. Don't try to tare people down, but lift them up in brotherly love. This is the will of God, and it is important that we stay in the will of God, for that is when God blesses us. When you build the people up around you, they will get along with you. Demonstrate in your life to the unbeliever what a Christian is.

I Peter 2:18 "Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward."

We are instructed by God that it doesn't matter whether a person is good bad or mean, you are to be good to them, that they may see Christ in you. If they are over you, obey them and serve them well. When a boss or employer is hard on you, and does evil against you we are to give the respect that is due his or her position. God knows the heart and intent of all people, and when it becomes necessary, God will make the changes. Either by opening other doors to you, or getting rid of Him. A vengeance is God's, and He is the one that makes things even. Through your kindness to him, his attitude may change, or even cause him to be drawn to Christ.

I Peter 2:19 "For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully."

When the people around you treat you wrongfully, and you don't deserve what they are doing to you, it pleases God to see the love that you have for them. This verse is in response to verse eighteen. Christianity and Christ forms a shell around you to protect you, and when the insults and rough handling comes your way, don't let it destroy you, but let it bounce off you and fall away. When we see the love that our Lord Jesus Christ had for us, and the great suffering and death that He took for our sins, it becomes easy to take insults. That is the time we are to show them what a Christian can accomplish.

I Peter 2:20 "For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God."

When you treat people well because they have treated you well, that is what the world does. It is expected of anybody, and even common amongst the unbelievers. However, when you are buffeted for faults, and it is deserved by you, and you take it patiently and seek to do them well in spite of their treatment to you; God says that your actions are acceptable to Him. When you are one of God's little ones, God is not going to allow anyone pick on you too long before He steps in and takes him out of your hair. God knows how to get even with them far better then you or I can.

So the thought to this point is that when you do something wrong, then you deserve everything that is coming to you. However, when evil deeds and words are said about you, and you do not deserve them, then God will take care of them, and you have pleased God by your actions.

I Peter 2:21 "For even hereunto were ye called; because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps:"

Jesus Christ's life was given as an example to us. He set the way, and lit the path for us to follow. His suffering when He did not deserve any of it, is an example of how He expects us to react when we are abused because of being a Christian. It is not possible for us to be exactly as Christ did, because we are in the flesh, and the flesh nature desires to get even when we are wronged. However, to the best of our ability lets try to put our feet in the steps that Jesus took, when He lived and faced those around him.

Even in our day, God will perform a miracle when there is a purpose for it. What He does, He does for the sake of His Word, and within His will. What God does is for the fulfillment of His overall plan. Jesus didn't run around healing everybody, but those that were healed were healed for a purpose to explain a part of God's plan. Remember that day at the pool of Bethesda, as recorded in John 5. There were a great multitude of sick and lamed lying around the pool with their hopes set on being healed through this fairy-tale that was being taught.

When Jesus came to the pool, there was only one man there that He was concerned with, and that was this one man that had been lain there for the past thirty eight years, and Jesus healed only Him. Jesus healed the man to fulfill the lesson that He was trying to teach the Jews, as to which was more important, to heal a man of sin, or to heal his body from disease and sickness.

I Peter 2:22 "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth:"

The love of God is being truthful with those around you. Jesus' love to the Kenites was demonstrated in the harshness in the correction within His voice. When you love someone you don't lie to them, but you give truth to them. When Jesus spoke, there was only truth that came from His mouth.

I Peter 2:23 "Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him That judgeth righteously: by Whose stripes ye were healed."

Our God is a jealous God and a God of vengeance. But Christ set the example for us, that even when they crucified Him, He said Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing. Those words spoken by Christ when He hung on the cross, was prophesied in Psalm 22, and those words were being fulfilled, as well as every other detail that is written in His Word. So we see that there was no guile, in that sense, against those that acted in ignorance.

I Peter 2:24 "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by Whose stripes ye were healed."

When Jesus Christ hung on the cross and suffered the death of the cross, He bare those stripes, and shed His blood so that you and I could have righteousness through our repentance for our sins. The only righteousness that we have before the throne of God, is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That is why we must believe on Him, for why would you repent to anyone if you did not believe that they were God? It is through the faith that we have in the truthfulness of His Word, that causes us to repent of our sins in Jesus name. A person with a broken leg doesn't lean on his crutches unless he knows that the crutches will sustain his weight. When we approach the throne of our Heavenly Father, we pray in Jesus name because God has told us that Jesus name is our credentials for approaching His throne.

Jesus paid the price, and He is also there in heaven as our advocate before the throne of God as yours and my representative. When God said He would forgive our sins, if we repent them to Him, before we can come to Him, we must do it in the fashion or way that He set forth. He has told us that the only way is through His only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and that is the protocol before the heavenly court. When we do it God's way, then we are accepted as one of His family, with all the rights and inheritance that goes with being family. Then you become a representative of God. You can't fool with God, for He knows your every thought, you either are or are not one of His.

This was prophesied in Isaiah 53:3; "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not."

Isaiah 53:4 "Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."

I Peter 2:25 "For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls."

Peter is quoting here from Isaiah 53:5, 6. What does a sheep use for its protection? It uses the shepherd for it's protection. A sheep has no built-in form of protection for itself; as it is not a flesh eating animal. Without a shepherd, the sheep are about the most helpless animal on earth. So a sheep leaving it's shepherd is doomed. Our shepherd leads and guides our soul, and directs us as to what we do. When Jesus is our Shepherd, we are following the direction of His Word, and not allowing our flesh nature to take control of our being. Lets go to the prophesy that was written there.

Isaiah 53:5 "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him: and with His stripes we are healed."

Isaiah 53:6 "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

This is speaking of Jesus Christ our Savior, who became the sacrificial Lamb that carried the sins of all the world on Himself. Lets read a few more verses of the suffering that Christ endured for the sins of you and I.

Isaiah 53:7 "He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth."

Isaiah 53:8 "He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His generation? for He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of My people was He stricken."