************************

The Promise
of the Lord's Coming

2 Peter 3.8-15a

Good News Translation (GNT)

  8  But do not forget one thing, my dear friends!
   There is no difference in the Lord's sight
   between one day and a thousand years;
   to him the two are the same.
  9  The Lord is not slow to do what he has
   promised, as some think. Instead, he is
   patient with you, because he does not want
   anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn
   away from their sins.
10  But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief.
   On that Day the heavens will disappear with
   a shrill noise, the heavenly bodies will burn up
   and be destroyed, and the earth with
   everything in it will vanish.(a)
11  Since all these things will be destroyed in this
   way, what kind of people should you be?
   Your lives should be holy and dedicated
   to God,
12  as you wait for the Day of God and do your
   best to make it come soon - the Day when the
   heavens will burn up and be destroyed, and
   the heavenly bodies will be melted by the heat.
13  But we wait for what God has promised: new
   heavens and a new earth, where
   righteousness will be at home.
14  And so, my friends, as you wait for that Day,
   do your best to be pure and faultless in God's
   sight and to be at peace with him.
15  Look on our Lord's patience as the opportunity
   he is giving you to be saved.

   Footnotes
   2 Peter 3:10 vanish;
   some manuscripts have
   be found;
   others have
   be burned up;
   one has
   be found destroyed.

*************************

Commentary taken from
'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
(Kingsway)

The Promise
of the Lord's Coming

At the time Peter wrote this letter, many believers had begun to wonder why Jesus had not yet come.

Therefore, Peter says to these believers: "Do not be agitated; do not think that God has delayed Jesus's coming.

In God's sight, a thousand years is like one day". Compared with an eternity, a thousand years is but a moment.

Our job is only this: to watch, to pray, and to obey.

He is being patient and merciful. He is giving men and women more time to come to repentance, before Jesus returns again as judge.

It is not God's desire that anyone should perish, but if men perish, it is not because of God but because of their own sin.

They perish because they have rejected God's son, our Saviour. However, after Jesus comes again there will no longer be any chance for men to repent.

And no one knows when Jesus will come. For if Jesus comes tomorrow and they have not repented, they will be lost.

The day of Jesus's return will come like a thief. He will come suddenly, when no one is expecting Him, and when he comes again, the earth and heavens will be completely destroyed.

Just as God once judged the world by water, so He will again judge the world by fire; and by that fire the earth will be utterly destroyed.

If we each fulfill God's will in our own lives, the day of God will come sooner.

God is waiting for us to spread His Gospel to all nations. We must not only repent and obey and preach the Gospel, but we must also pray this prayer: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.....

Believers do not need to fear Jesus's second coming. This old earth will be destroyed, but the righteous will enter a new heaven and a new earth.

Since only the righteous will enter this new heaven and earth, we should make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

Let us each ask ourselves this question: If we suddenly learned that Jesus was going to return in one year, would we live our lives any differently?

Our answer should be no!

If we are at present living our lives according to God's will, then learning that Jesus will return in a year should make no difference in our behaviour (aside from cancelling long-range plans).

We should be living each day as if the Lord were about to return.

As long as God waits patiently, many more people will have the opportunity to repent and be saved.

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