Waiting for someone or something is an activity that most people don’t particularly enjoy. Few people, myself included, like to wait in traffic. As someone who enjoys reading, I always make sure that I bring a book along most anywhere I go, especially if I expect to be sitting in the waiting room of a doctor. Even that name, waiting room, can be irritating. Frequently, though, waiting is necessary. We wait for test results, for special days to come, and we wait for promises to be fulfilled. Our Scripture today speaks of a promise that we are waiting to be fulfilled. Let’s see what this promise is, and what will happen when the promise is fulfilled.
In various places of the Bible, we read of the promise that Jesus will return to earth again, and the coming day of judgment. Christians look forward to the return of the Savior, longing to see the Lord Jesus, but it never seems to come. The Apostle Peter wrote the Scripture we are reading today, and he addressed this question. Even though it was only a few decades following the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, people in Peter’s day were beginning to wonder if this promise would be fulfilled. Now we are in the final weeks of 2023, and it’s been two thousand years. Has God forgotten about the promise?
Peter opens our Scripture by explaining that God understands Time much differently than man does (vs. 8). God is outside of our realm of time, our marking of minutes, days, and years. He transcends our timeframes. As Peter said, one day is as a thousand years to God, and a thousand years as one day. To Him, the two thousand years that have passed have been just like a couple of days.
Even though we may understand that God’s time is not our time, we still may wonder why He is taking so long, why His promise is so slow in coming. God is not slow. As Peter continues to explain, Jesus is waiting so that more sinners will repent and turn to Him (vs. 9). His desire is that people will turn to Him for salvation, but unfortunately not all will. Man was given free will, and though many have accepted Jesus, so many more have refused.
God is not loitering or late. Unlike us, He has an immense capacity for patience. He desires to give more time so that more people will have the chance to repent of their sins and to turn to the Lord Jesus for salvation. However, that patience does have a limit, and when it has been reached, He will come in judgment. Those who do perish on that day of judgment and who are sent to hell, do so because they have rejected the only remedy, that being faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
That day when the Lord Jesus returns will come suddenly, unexpectedly, and catch people by surprise, just as a thief coming in the middle of the night does. (vs. 10). If people knew when the thief would arrive, they would be ready and prepared. The same is true for the people on earth when Jesus returns. It will be disastrous for those who are unprepared for Him, for it will be too late.
On that Day of the Lord, there will be great cataclysmic occurrences on earth and in the sky (vs. 10). Knowing that He is coming again, and that it will happen unexpectedly, and knowing the great events that will be occurring then, Peter gives us a warning (vs. 11). He gives a challenge for Christians to conform their lives to God’s standards in light of the reality of the coming judgment and eternity. Christians need to live their lives separate from sin, and in a spirit of reverence.
People we know may fail to keep their promises, especially as time passes since the promise was made. However, a Divine Promise is certain to be fulfilled. God made us the promise that He will return, and we can be assured that He will, but like Peter said, it will happen like a thief in the night, suddenly, unexpectedly. Are you ready and prepared, or slacking off? Time is short, and there is important work to do for the Lord before He comes.
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