This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles. First of all, you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!” They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the godless. But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be destroyed with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.
2 Peter 3:1-10
STORY
Jane Goodall is best known to the world as the foremost expert on chimpanzees. She began her study of chimpanzees in 1960 when she was 23-years-old. She spent the next 55-years studying wild chimpanzees social and family interactions. At the age of 78 she retired from her work as a primatologist and an anthropologist.
Her new venture in life is the role of an activist for climate change. Her mother taught her that the best way to change the minds of individuals is to tell stories. Goodall now travels across the globe telling stories of what she has seen of the destruction caused by climate change.
Goodall has a new goal. A serious goal. A goal that motivates her. That goal is to convince people and nations that climate change is real and appropriate steps must be taken to stop it. Interpreting her new role as an activist she said, “I’m traveling around the world now, no longer studying chimpanzees, and trying to tell people what’s happening in the world, the mess that we’ve made and the fact that unless we all get together to help the environment we all share, then it may be too late. The window of time is closing. And it’s not enough just to wave placards and say, ‘Climate change!’ The point is to take actual action. To do your bit.”
The window of time is closing.
DEVOTION
The message of Peter’s letter is judgment is intimate – the Second Coming is quickly approaching – the window is closing. The audience for his letter is not one specific congregation, but the churches that populated Asia Minor. As the letter has a general audience, and is not intended for one specific locale, it is classified as a “catholic epistle,” with the word catholic meaning “universal.”
There is a scholarly debate if Peter is the actual author of the letter, but it is sufficient for me to claim Peter as the author. This question brings forth another question, and that question is what is the year in which the letter was written. If Peter is the rightful author, he was executed by Emperor Nero in the year 68, and it is believed that he wrote his epistle shortly before that.
One of the most often quoted lines from the Bible is when Peter wrote: “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” We often associate this line with unanswered prayers, a delayed healing, why I can’t find someone to marry, or when will God rescue me from my plight. This is just a very short list of how we have used this verse when God seems unresponsive in our lives. And, perhaps, this is a meaningful interpretation.
Though, for Peter, in the five preceding versus, informs us of his reason for composing a standard of time for God, writing, “Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.”
Peter is saying that God is delaying the Second Coming desiring that as many that can be saved will be saved. The “slowness” allows unbelievers to turn from their secular ways and live spiritual lives. It is the hope that they will no longer live in darkness, but come and live in a great light. The line expresses the hope that everyone will invite Jesus into their lives as Lord and Savior.
Unbelievers deny the Second Coming. They argue that the world has remained stable since creation. They continue, that even since the death and resurrection of Jesus, everything has remained unalterably the same. They believe since God is slow to act that it is possible to assume that the Second Coming is never going to happen. They have no desire to change from their debauchery life-style.
Peter disputes this line of thinking when he wrote, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.” God’s slowness is not a declaration that there is no God; God’s slowness is an act of mercy hoping everyone will come to believe.
Jesus anticipated this problem among unbelievers when he said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”
The seriousness of what Jesus spoke, and Peter wrote, should compel us to be evangelists because the window is closing.
We don’t have the privilege of waiting until tomorrow. We must act – this day; this hour; this minute. We need to share our testimony and why we have come to believe in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. We must encourage individuals to invite Jesus into their lives. We must be willing to share biblical passages. We need to avoid excuse making as to why I am not qualified to be an evangelist. We need to stop pretending that we don’t know anyone who isn’t already a Christian. And as much as I dislike scare tactics, we must be serious in our presentation that there is a Day of Judgement.
Barrett Owen is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Wilmington, North Carolina. He wrote a devotional for Palm Sunday, that we will be celebrating on March 25, that was printed in Reflections, a daily devotional guide published by NextSunday Resources. Owen wrote that on Palm Sunday, “This is a moment when Caesar’s old realm comes face-to-face with God’s new realm.” On this day some will stand at the West Gate and place garlands before an Emperor; others stand at the North Gate and place palms before a King. Though, the pastor observes, “Many don’t know what to do.”
It is time – this day, this hour – for unbelievers to decide what to do for the window of time is closing.