2 Peter 3

Something big is going to happen one day. Christians may not always be clear about some of the details, but the consideration of the fact of what Scripture calls the Day of the Lord is important to all who believe that Jesus is the Messiah. In this letter Peter has been deeply concerned to encourage people to live out the Christian life here and now by adding to their faith virtue, and so on. This is not inconsistent with meditating about the culmination of the resurrection in the return of Jesus Christ. In fact a healthy focus on God's promise to us in Christ is a very important part of living a fruitful and useful life today.

The message of the Day of the Lord is all over the Bible. The Old Testament prophets wrote about the judgment and salvation of that day, and when our Lord and Savior came to die for us, He had much to say about a correct understanding of the ultimate plan of God for His kingdom. Thinking regularly about heaven should not be denigrated as some gnostic or Greek anti-material philosophical mistake. Just the opposite. People have over-spiritualized heaven, and have missed the material bounty and power of the life that is there now where Christ reigns with men and angels. It is not safe to ignore heaven or to be ignorant about what the Bible says about what is to come. God wants to stir up our biblical consideration of these matters, rather than allowing them to be dormant or quietly hidden in a treasure chest of unused doctrines.

There will always be scoffers who want to minimize the facts of life after death and the coming again of Christ. They enjoy making belief in angels, glorified people, heaven, and the coming resurrection material for their jokes. This is what the Sadducees did to Jesus with their sophisticated attempts at humor at the expense of the one who is the Lord of the resurrection and the final Judge. What a mistake!

There are some touchstones in Scripture and history that should remind us that everything does not always stay the same. We consider the flood in the days of Noah, or the fall of empires that people thought of as invincible. The world as people know it and experience it has faced many cataclysmic events that result in the death of millions, and change life forever for those who survive. Those who accept the truth of the Scriptures know that life will not always be as it is right now. Peter writes about the pre-flood world that “perished,” and reminds us that God has promised that the world will again perish, now by the fire of His judgment at the return of Christ. The ungodly will be destroyed in that coming day.

People have always wanted to know when that day will come, but God will not reveal that detail. It could happen sooner than we imagine, or it could be thousands of years from now. God is patient, and He has His saving purpose in every day of mercy He grants to us. He is not wishing for anyone's eternal destruction, but is sending out the message of faith in Christ to all with complete divine sincerity and purity. When He tells people everywhere to repent, He truly means it. Why should anyone perish today when mercy is so near to us in the good news of Jesus Christ?

But Judgment Day will come, as God has promised. It will come as if unexpected, like a thief. Don't wait another moment to trust in Jesus. Right now give your heart to Him. One day all of the remnants of death in this world will be put to death. Something very major and sudden will take place, and the created order as we know it will be in some sense eradicated, and at the same time released from the bondage of decay, just as our mortal bodies will be renewed by the Lord of the resurrection. Everything about the earth and all the works that are done on it will be laid bare before Christ, our Judge and Redeemer.

Therefore, devote yourselves together with the church in all ages in heaven and on earth to the perfect holiness and godliness of the King who still says to His people, “Follow Me.” A day of the most profound destruction and rebirth is coming. We wait for that day, and we even hasten the coming of it by quietly and diligently pursuing the work that God has for each of us to do. Somehow when Christians live according to the example of holiness and godliness that has been supremely granted to us in Jesus our Lord, we actually hasten the return of our King.

Do not miss the life that Jesus and His apostolic Word commands us all to live. Have you embraced the Lord Jesus Christ? Then take up this life He has for you, and be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

This same message comes to you from every book of the Bible, from every author of every book, and from God, the ultimate Author of His Word. Peter is not saying anything different than Paul urged upon those who read his letters. And both of them have the same message as Moses, David, and Isaiah. There will always be people that twist God's Word into something different than the faith, love, and power of the cross. We cannot listen to them.

May the Lord continue to be patient with us, and save us, for Christ died for our sins. Let us then grow together as His body in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the Head of the church and the true King of the Israel of God, the kingdom of heaven. To Jesus, God the Son, be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.