2 Peter 3:8-14 [Advent 2]
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Tucson, AZ
December 10, 2023
Christians are Always Ready for the Last Day You are absolutely dreading this family Christmas get-together. You know you should feel happy about it—it’s Christmas! But you know there will be awkward conversations. Your parents sharing their favorite embarrassing anecdotes from your childhood. Your super-weird uncle. The list of things that make you not at all excited about going is long. But someone who knows you well and realizes the importance of you being there tells you that you have to understand some things about the family and go into it with the right attitude. They’re right, of course. I mean you’re right too, Uncle Maynard is super-weird. Nonetheless, the right attitude goes a long way as you prepare for that day to arrive. Uncomfortable family get-togethers are not on the same scale as the fire and destruction and melting away of the entire planet and universe on Judgment Day, I understand, but preparing for the inevitable End with the proper attitude is absolutely mandatory. That’s what our friend, the Apostle Peter says to us. He tells us that the Lord will return—Jesus will return as King of kings on the Last Day. There are some things to know about that day, and some preparation is needed. Peter helps us with that this morning as we learn or are reminded that:
Christians are Always Ready for the Last Day 1. Because we understand what God is like (8-9) 2. Because we know how all this ends (10, 12b) 3. Because we are looking forward to the End (11-12a, 13-14) 1. Because we understand what God is like Have you ever tried to figure out what time is like to God? You know, what it means that he is eternal. Or you think about how Genesis says that God created things one day at a time, but your mind travels some winding paths, influenced by things that nonChristians tell you about evolution, and you think, “Maybe those were each just really long days—like millions of years instead of 24 hours. Maybe this here in 2 Peter really makes that a possibility! For the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.” Not to travel too far down your winding, wondering path with you, but you should know that there are at least a couple very simple responses to that idea. When God says that there was evening and morning the first day (and so on), he is literally describing to us 24-hour days. That’s just the beginning of that path. The other simple answer is that Peter is not talking about a day EQUALING a thousand years (which wouldn’t be enough for your wonderings anyway), AND he’s not talking about creation.
What he IS talking about is the eternal nature of God, which makes him not bound by time. He is above time. His relation to time is not what ours is. There was a time when there was no time—he created it! He started the clock ticking for us on the first day, and it’s been running—perfectly consistent—since then. We experience time in a linear way that makes a thousand years a very long time. What this really says is that a single day or a thousand years are, in reality, the same to God. We can’t comprehend that. So, we take the path back home and stop the wandering. With that behind us, we can focus on the point Peter is actually making. That is, the Lord has made promises to return on a day that will be the final one for this world. And Peter assured his first readers and assures us that even though we may feel like it is sure taking Jesus a long time to fulfill that promise, and that we think we see all the signs he told us to expect to see leading up to the Last Day already fulfilled, it is not a long time for God. He has a point in the world’s time when that will happen, but what is of highest importance to him is that people respond to his love, repent of their sins, and trust in him. He is literally giving us all the time in the world because he is patient. He is waiting for people, wanting people to see him as God and Savior. You could see this same desire in him when he sent John the Baptist to get people ready to see Jesus. You see the grace of God there, right? He could have wiped out Adam and Eve when they sinned. He didn’t. He could have destroyed Noah and his family along with the rest of humankind in the Flood. He didn’t. He could have gotten so fed up with his chosen people, the Israelites, and said, “You know what? Forget the whole mess!” He didn’t. Why does he just keep going…giving more time…delaying his return? As it relates to our sense of time, the seemingly long time is because he is patient for your sakes, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance. For all the scary judgment images in these words, don’t miss the love of God here! Do pay attention to those words. He is looking for people to repent before him, to acknowledge their sins against his holy expectations. God does not turn away any who call on him in repentance, which includes knowing that he takes way those sins, forgiving them completely in Jesus! He wants this—so, he patiently waits. As Christian people, you know this. You are ready for the Last Day because you understand what God is like. You appreciate his patience. You love him for the forgiveness he promises through faith in his Son. You trust his promise to take you to heaven when that Last Day comes and Jesus returns in glory. And you want that for others just like he does.
2. Because we know how all this ends How many of you have alarm systems on your house? How many have a Ring doorbell kind of thing? How many of you have locks on the doors of your house…and your garage…and your shed…and your car…and your dorm room…and your school locker? It’s normal to have these things because there are people who go around breaking in and stealing. We are prepared because we don’t know what day might be the day, what night might be the night, what hour of that day or night a thief will make his move. When Peter wrote that the day of the Lord will come like a thief, he was recalling something that Jesus said: So be alert, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: If the master of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. You also need to be ready for this reason: The Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect him (Matthew 24:42-44). You know this. You know better than to predict when the End will come. You know to prepare for it. And you know how all this ends. No doubt, you recall things the Bible says about Jesus returning on the Day of Resurrection with trumpets and angels. He will be coming for us so that we will be with him for eternity. You’re ready for that. Besides telling us that Judgment Day will come unexpectedly, Peter shares with us what else will happen on that day. Everything we see in this world, in this universe— everything around us, everything we own, everything—will be destroyed. There will be nothing left. Well, only this: you and all people and the Lord himself. Everything else, gone, dissolved, burned up, melted. Picture the most incredible, enormous, fiery explosion in a movie scene or a scene with a natural disaster or meteor crashing into the earth and threatening all of mankind and the planet itself. They can do amazing things with special effects—stunningly realistic, But no CGI visual effects (computer generated imagery), nothing we can imagine, can do justice to what we will see when the King returns in all his glory and the created world and universe—tainted by sin—crashes and burns and goes away. Peter tells us this so that we are not afraid or surprised by what we’ll see, but just the opposite—so that we are prepared and unafraid. The timing of that day will be a surprise, but what happens on that day is no mystery to us. God has told us these things so that we can be ready. As God’s people, we listen to him and trust his Word. We’re ready because we know how all this ends!
3. Because we are looking forward to the End If we know that all of this is going away, what exactly are we supposed to do while we wait for that day? Well, we certainly wouldn’t want to live with a focus on this world then, would we? That would be pretty pointless. Any over-attachment to things in this world necessarily damages and threatens our relationship with God. Ultimately, it could lead to a horrific Last Day and eternity, if those things should separate us from God. And how much worse do we make it for our children if they learn this from us? And what a waste of our precious time if we don’t help others see their Savior—people God is patiently waiting for! This could be tragedy for us and for others—and why? For things that are only going to get burned up in the end anyway? Focusing on the wrong things is disastrous because none of that is going to matter when the earth disappears from under our feet and we are in front of Christ the King at the moment when we will understand what eternal is and what eternity means. Another thing to watch for is a lack of eagerness for Jesus to return. That’s an indication that something is off in us. A Christian wants that day to come. A Christian feels the effects of sin in their life, sees it in the lives of those around them and in a hurting world, and wants what God promises—and end to all of this—and a new heavens and earth where Christ rules and righteousness is over it all. It could be that a lack of interest or eagerness for Christ’s return is something we need to repent of. The kind of people God wants us to be is spelled out for us right here. Repentant and forgiven in Christ, Peter urges us to live in holiness and godliness as we look forward to the End. Live in a way that indicates to God that you do understand him, and you do know and trust how all this will end, and that you are eager for that day! This world and universe will be utterly annihilated, but a new heavens and earth will take their place. Only perfection, only righteousness will be there. We will be perfect and righteous there! We look forward to that! Christians have a different outlook on life in this world—what we live for, what is important, what we should do. We’re after a life that pleases God and is a blessing to others. We want to live peacefully and sinlessly—spotless and blameless, as Peter says. Our imperfect natures will rise up daily, but we daily go to the Lord with repentant hearts and find in him forgiveness. He makes us spotless and blameless before God. We have a family get-together to go to on the Last Day. The family of believers will gather around, not a Christmas tree, but the throne of God…not celebrating Christ’s birth, but celebrating because we are in the presence of the risen Christ. We have no worries about this gathering! This is one that we are ready to go to and are eager to go to! And we will—when Christ returns. Amen. Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.