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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.
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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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