“But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that [day] the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be
dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be
disclosed.” (2 Peter 3:10 HCSB)
It is December 22, 2012—and we are still here. I should not be writing these words today,
because the world ought to have come to an end yesterday—according to the Mayan
calendar. Although many of us suspected
that is all this hubbub would turn out as hooey, it has now been
confirmed. The Mayans were
mistaken. But, a lot of people foolishly
bought into this. Some behaved irrationally—like
one man in China
It may not even be that the Mayans were mistaken, but those
who interpreted their calendar were.
Leading up to this “Doomsday” scenario, experts in Mayan culture said
that the calendar was being misinterpreted.
No matter who was mistaken, this doomsday became a dud. The world did not end—yet.
But, this present world, and all that is in it, will some day
come to an end. I believe it may be
near, but I will not fall into the error of setting dates. The Bible tells us the end is coming, but
assures us that we don’t know when.
Jesus said, “Now concerning that day and hour no one knows —
neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son — except the
Father only.” (Matt.24:36)
What part of that don’t we understand?
Jesus is coming, judgment will fall, the end of this present
evil age will happen and a new order will be established—that is certain as
well. There are numerous things which
the Bible reveals about the last days, but also some elements shrouded in
mystery. One mistake Christians can make
is they get consumed about watching for the signs and neglect working for the
Savior! Biblical prophecy was never
meant to satisfy our curiosity, but to stimulate our activity—much more about
filling our hearts with expectation, than filling our heads with information.
Now, there is nothing commendable about ignorance. What the Bible teaches concerning the return
of Christ needs to be studied, taught and believed. But, real faith never stops with intellectual
assimilation, but leads to practical application. James warns us of the self-deception of being
hearers of the Word and not doers of it.
So, how are we to respond to the reality of the Lord’s
return? How should we live in light of
eternity? Peter tells us in the final
chapter of his second epistle.
The first response of the Christian to the reality of Christ’s
return is to BE PATIENT (2 Pet.3:1-9).
“Dear friends, don’t let this one thing escape you: With the
Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does
not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with
you, not wanting any to perish but all to
come to repentance.” (v.8-9)
The nuttiness associated with the Mayan calendar, the Harold
Camping rapture predictions of a few months back, the calculations laid out in
books like, “88 Reasons Jesus Will Return in 1988” from a couple of decades
ago, the error that led to the founding of the Seventh Day Adventist movement in
the 1800’s, the prophecies of Nostradamus centuries ago, and such, only give
the skeptics reasons to scorn the whole idea that the world will come to an
end.
But, in so doing, they are actually fulfilling the very
prophecy they deny.
Peter warned, “First, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in
the last days to scoff, living according to their own desires, saying, ‘Where
is the promise of His coming? Ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things
continue as they have been since the beginning of creation.’” (v.3-4)
Just because it hasn’t happened yet, does not
mean it won’t. So, after all the sermons
on the return of Christ and the passing of two thousand years of church
history, why hasn’t Jesus come back?
The answer is given: the perspective of the Lord
and the patience of His love (v.8-9).
God’s view of time as an eternal Being is vastly
different from our perspective as mortals.
Those who typically live less than a century on earth think of a
thousand years as a long time, but to God it would be like a day. At my age, do you know how long a day is? Why, it’s like a blink of an eye, and it has
zipped by! How long has it been since
Jesus ascended with the promise that He would come again? Like a couple of those days!
God’s love for souls is immeasurable and
therefore His patience is incredible.
When the end comes, it will mean condemnation to all who reject Christ. “But by the same word, the present
heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and
destruction of ungodly men.” (v.7) Jesus
didn’t come into this world for the purpose of bringing condemnation, but
salvation (see John 3:17). Though His
patience is long, it is not limitless.
There is a line that will be crossed—and wrath will be outpoured. It will then be too late for repentance. That day has not arrived, but it will.
So, we wait patiently, and work persistently, while we witness
passionately. Peter uses the example of
Noah and the flood to underscore this (v.5-7).
Noah hammered together the ark, every blow echoing the call to
repent. He begged his scoffing neighbors
to come into the ark. They mocked him—for
years. But, then came the day Noah was
summoned to enter the ark with his family and the animals. God shut the door—opportunity ended and
judgment fell from the skies.
How do we live in light of the Lord’s return? Be patient, for God is. The second response is BE PREPARED.
“But the Day of the Lord will come like
a thief; on that [day] the heavens will pass away with a loud
noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth
and the works on it will be disclosed. Since all
these things are to be destroyed in this way, [it is clear] what sort of people
you should be in holy conduct and godliness as you wait
for and earnestly desire the coming of the day of
God. The heavens will be on fire and be dissolved
because of it, and the elements will melt with the heat. But based on
His promise, we wait for the new heavens and a new earth, where
righteousness will dwell.” (2
Pet.3:10-13)
It is apparent that this is the pivotal point
that Peter is making. The truth of the
Lord’s return ought to lead us to transformation in our readiness for that day.
Many years ago, I was a Boy Scout. I still remember the Scout motto, “Be
prepared.” That is a thoroughly Biblical response—you prepare for life in the
sweet by and by as you live clean in the soiled now and now.
Our life on earth is a dress-rehearsal for
eternity. If we are gripped by this
reality, it will make a difference in every dimension of life on this planet.
We will invest in that which is eternal, rather
than temporal. All that we see, touch,
and treasure of this material universe will one day dissolve. Picture a nuclear bomb dropped on your
house—what would be left? Everything
would be vaporized. That is the force
unleashed when an atom is split. What will happen when the elements come
unglued? Right now, they are held
together by the Word of God. That very Word will turn to their dissolution one
day in a fiery cataclysm, “But by the same word, the present
heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction
of ungodly men.” (v.7)
Have your heard the appeals to invest in gold? I am not going to tell you what to do with
your retirement plan—maybe having some gold will help in the short-term. But, please, don’t give yourself to hoarding
gold as something to trust in, because it is not a wise investment in the long
run! It is going to melt away, like
everything else.
Maybe you have heard the story that goes something like this:
A man is facing death and makes one request of God. “I have always heard about money that you
can’t take it with you, but would you just let me pack one suitcase with
gold? I don’t want to take it all—just
this little bit.” God graciously granted
the request. On arriving in heaven, the
angels are immediately aware of this unique event—a man headed for the Pearly
Gates with a suitcase. Before he enters,
they stop him and say, “We must inspect the contents of this before we allow
you to bring it in.” The fellow says,
“Alright, but you must handle this very carefully. It is extremely valuable to me. I had to get special permission to bring
it.” The angels open the case, look
inside, close it and hand it back over to the man. When he walks away, one scratches his head,
and another says with bewilderment, “Pavement! Why did he bring pavement?” You see, in heaven that which we prize so
highly on earth is the stuff we walk upon up there!
God has given us time, talent and treasure—a specific
allotment of each. Stewardship demands
that I take those assets from the Lord which He has distributed to me and that
I invest them in such a way that they are of eternal significance. This is how
we prepare to meet God. C.S. Lewis put
it this way, “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get nether.” Then, in this connection, I also love the
quote from Jim Elliot, the martyred missionary, “He is no fool who gives what
he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
The end is coming. It
wasn’t yesterday. It could be
today. The important thing is to be patient
and be prepared. When this is the case,
then we will BE PURE (2 Pet.3:14-18).
Peter has already hit at this, “Since all these things are to be
destroyed in this way, [it is clear] what sort of people you should be in holy
conduct and godliness” (v.11). The new
heavens and new earth will be a place, “where righteousness will dwell.”
(v.13). Now Peter drives this home, “Therefore,
dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found at
peace with Him without spot or blemish.” (v.14)
Heaven is a place for the holy. We must be a holy people to be at peace with
a Holy God. He is ever at war with
sin. If we do not lay down our arms in
unconditional surrender in this life, we will find ourselves His enemies
forever—to our everlasting regret.
Holiness is rooted in a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ. It comes by faith in
Him, where His very righteousness is imputed to us. We are regenerated, made to be saints when we
repent of our sins and receive the Savior.
That Holy Spirit then leads to godly behavior as more and more we take
on the image of our Father outwardly which has become ours inwardly as children
of God. The writer of Hebrews echoes
this same message, “Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness — without it
no one will see the Lord.” (12:14) Jesus said, “The pure in heart are blessed, for
they will see God. The peacemakers are blessed, for
they will be called sons of God.” (Matt.5:8-9)
If you knew Jesus would return tomorrow, how would it affect the
way you live today? Really, it shouldn’t
change a thing, because we ought to be living each day as if it were our last
day. It just might be!
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