2 Peter 3:1-10 The Day of the Lord Will Come
Good afternoon, everyone here and online! It’s been a while but I would like to continue and finish our 2 Peter study. But a quick reminder in chapter 2, Peter had warned the believers about false prophets and false teachers that would come into the fold, trying to mislead believers. False teachers are actually agents of the devil, who does his best to lead astray God’s people. He also wants to discourage believers and cause them to stumble by ignoring God’s promises. So, one of his greatest attacks is the return of Jesus, one of the pillars of the Christian faith, to establish the new heaven and the new earth. If Jesus does not return, then there is no hope for us and no hope for this world because evil and wicked people will continue in their wickedness without any fear of retribution. Worst of all, our faith in the gospel of Jesus will be in vain. That’s why it’s important for us to learn the meaning of Jesus’ return called “the day of the Lord” for all mankind.
The Day of the Lord Will Come
2 Peter 3:1-10
Key Verse:10:
“10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies[b] will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.[c]”
Look at verses 1-2. “This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles…” In these beginning verses, we can see Peter’s shepherd heart and love for the early believers as their spiritual father, calling them his “beloved” in verses 1 and 8. First Peter is well-known for Bible verses that teaches about a living hope in the kingdom of God waiting for all believers. It is an inheritance for all believers that will never perish, spoil, or fade away. In this second letter, Peter emphasizes Jesus’ second return and God’s final judgment. He had also warned them, as mentioned, in 2 Peter chapter 2 about false teachers and prophets who were corrupting the gospel truth. This is why he wanted to stir their sincere minds by reminding them of God’s truth found in the Scriptures, which was in the Old Testament books, written by the holy prophets. If you prayerfully study the Bible or even better teach the Scriptures to others, as Peter was doing, you will find your mind sincerely seeking God’s truth and being stirred up with thoughts of God’s wonder. Because God’s truth is sweet like honey to our souls. (Isn’t that right Dr. Ben? I like Bible study with my students because they stir up my mind and I hope theirs as well.) I like this quote from James Allen, “A noble and God-like character is not a thing of favor or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking, the effect of long-cherished association with God-like thoughts.” [Pic 1] As we know, it takes a lot of consistent effort, Bible reading, prayer, and sacrifice to acquire God-like thoughts. It is easy to just shut done our minds and look at reels of short and entertaining videos for many hours, but acquiring wholesome thinking before God is not so easy because it requires daily discipline. Even our members like Stephanie, Trish, Noah, and others, are disciplining themselves to study hard and prepare their finds for their coming finals. Peter was a true apostle, who wanted to stir the mind and souls of God’s flock. This is in contrast with the false prophets in their time. Not only did Peter encourage them to study the prophetic teachings, but also the apostolic teachings, which included the letters of the Apostle Paul. The early believers needed to meditate on the word of God because there were scoffers among them scoffing about Jesus’ return and final judgment.
Look at verses 3-4. “…3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’” As already mentioned, false teachers had infiltrated the body of believers, the church, even claiming themselves to be Christians. But instead of encouraging members in the congregation, they were only discouraging them and scoffing at their belief that Jesus would return, as Jesus promised he would. In these verses, we see that scoffers were using emotional, moral, and uniformitarianism arguments against Jesus’ return. Why emotional? They were playing on the emotional disappointments some of the early believers were experiencing. You see, at that time many believers hoped and incorrectly believed that Jesus would return in their lifetime. After Jesus’ departure, many were suffering all kinds of persecutions, human losses, and they even saw church members martyred for their faith. Many seemed to be losing everything in the world. Their only hope seemed to be Jesus’ return to take them away from the evil world. But when they did not see any signs of Jesus’ return, they were disappointed. In his Psalms series, we remember Dr. Ben’s message on how Old Testament saints though humanly disappointed at times, kept their faith and trust in God to the end, despite of what was going on around them. Many believers today also, in their hardships and difficulties, wish Jesus would return soon. The scoffers knew the early believers’ disappointments and began to mock them saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” In our modern times, they would be saying, “You have a pipe dream—a pie in the sky. Give it up. Stop wasting your time on these nonsense and ridiculous fairytales. It will not put food on your table. Jesus is not coming back.” Even Richard Dawkins, a world-famous atheist, told his followers what to do with believers and their ridiculous beliefs, “mock and ridicule them in public with contempt.” To him and other atheists then, believing that Jesus will return again is a ridiculous belief. At the same time, he calls himself a cultural Christian. [Pic 2] Probably the scoffers in the church were only cultural Christians.
Actually, when we are mocked for our faith, who should we remember? Yes, we should remember our Lord Jesus, while he was dying on the cross for the sin of the world, people were scoffing and mocking at him, “Come down from the cross! You saved others, why don’t you save yourself!” Jesus also said, “If they persecute me, they will also persecute you.” But we should not be afraid of scoffers and mockers. I like the answer of one pastor I heard, “If people are scoffing at you because of your faith. Tell them, ‘Thank you for you scoffing, because you are fulfilling God’s what the Bible says will happen.’” We should never be afraid of scoffers because our faith in Jesus is based on God’s truth and will never be shaken; no matter what others may say.
However, in the end of verse 3, we find the real motivation of scoffers in avoiding the topic of Jesus’ return. It reads, “scoffing, following their own sinful desires.” This is the moral argument because they wanted to follow “their own sinful desires.” In other words, they don’t want to think about Jesus’ return because it would mean that they would have to be accountable for all their actions while they lived in this world. In fact, 2 Corinthians 5:10 reads, “10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” Believing Jesus’ return is the same as believing that he is Lord and King of the universe and that we are all accountable to him. That is why people don’t want to believe he is coming back. It is the same as people who say that after we die that’s it; we just return back to the ground and become dust. No more care or worries of punishment for all wrongdoings that we have done. But this is the devil’s lie, as he lied to Adam and Eve saying, “you will not surely die.” In today’s words, “Go ahead sin, lie, cheat, or do whatever you have to do to get ahead in life. Nothing will happen to you.” Of course, scoffers make their arguments for Jesus not to return sound reasonable and humanly speaking correct.
Next, scoffers in Peter’s time and today argue for uniformitarianism, which means things have always been the same and they will always remain the same—uniform. That is found the end of verse 4 reads, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” As we know, when Jesus returns it will be earth shattering news. Every person on earth, regardless of where they live or status in the world, will be greatly affected. Governments of the world will crumble and evil rulers and tyrants will be shaking in fear. So, they want to say nothing catastrophic like this will ever happen because it has never happened in the past. It is saying the same as one pastor said about what scoffers’ argument is like, “I will never die because I have never died before.”[a] Or, “I will never have cancer because I never had cancer before.” They ignore the facts and biblical accounts of creation and of the greatest catastrophe that has ever happened, which was the world-wide flood.
Look at verses 5-6. “5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.” As we know, if people do not accept the very first verse in the Bible, Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” then they cannot accept anything else in the Bible. Forget about reading the rest of the Bible because in the end they will only become scoffers. God as Creator God is the foundation of the whole Bible. And because we believe that He is the Creator God, we believe that He can do anything. Briefly speaking, as those of us in UBF long enough are familiar with the Genesis creation story, God created the waters above the earth and the waters below. The water above was a canopy to protect the earth from the harmful effects of the sun and radiation from space. But in the time of Noah, mankind had become so evil and sinful that God judged them with a world-wide flood. God used the water above and water below to completely destroy everything on earth. This had catastrophic effects on the earth and everything that had the breath of life perished, except for those in the ark. After the flood, God made a covenant with Noah and all mankind that He would not destroy the earth with a world-wide flood again. Uniformitarians should thank God for His promise in Genesis 8:22, “22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” But it will not last like this forever. Next time God would destroy the world with fire because of the ungodly and evilness of wicked people.
Look at verse 7. “7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” God created the heavens and the earth by His word alone, and God can destroy creation by His word also. In fact, there are many promises of God in the Scriptures regarding God’s final judgment on the earth. Again, this is why Peter encouraged believers to be reminded of God’s promises in the Old Testament because God’s final judgment has been written about long ago. A few examples include, Isaiah 13:10 reads, “For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.” This was not a prophesy about a total eclipse that some of us saw last week. It will be a universal catastrophe because the stars in heaven and the constellations will not give their light. Again, Isaiah 24:19 reads, “The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken.” This is not talking about a local earthquake, like the one that recently happened in Taiwan. When Jesus returns, the whole world will shake like a leaf on a branch during a windy day. Last verse to look at, Micah 1:4 reads, “And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open,
like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.” Even the highest Himalayan mountains will melt before the heat of God’s fire. It will be a terrible day for those who scoffed at Jesus’ return. However, God has not poured out His wrath on the world as of yet because of His loving kindness and patience. Even though many people throughout history have been impatient about this matter, God is not, because He lives according to a different timetable than we do. In fact, God transcends time and space.
Look at verse 8. “8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” Here, Peter wanted to help the believers understand that God, because He is an eternal being, is not limited to time. Because He is eternal, He sees the end from the beginning. We are only limited to a linear time table so we count with days, weeks, and years. But God is eternal and transcends time, which He created for limited mankind. God has already seen the end from the beginning. Peter quoted his words in verse 8 from Psalm 90:4, “For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.” This was a truth that they should have already been known from the Scriptures. This is one of the many truths that Peter wanted to remind them about. Again, this is one of the messages we heard from Dr. Ben’s Psalms series. This is why we cannot put God in a box because He is unbounded by anything, not even time. We are bound by time and we have a limited time to live in this world. Dr. Ben always talks that he cannot believe how time goes so fast and he and P. Henry are in their 70’s. Maria, Rhoel, and I cannot believe that we already in our 60’s this year. I thank God I still have my hair, but I know all my hair will disappear one day. Only God knows how many years we will live in this world. That is why every day is a present from God which we should not waste, but use every day for His glory and honor. Still, in order to help impatient believers, Peter gives the spiritual reason God is still withholding His hand of judgment to this day.
Look at verse 9. “9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,[b] not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” This verse reminds me of what my old pastor once described the American culture with the 3 S’s—speed, sex, and sports. We really like speed—speedy cars, speedy computers, speedy phones, fast food, fast runners, etc. We hate anything that looks slow, especially slow traffic or the slow driver in front of us. Yesterday, I was driving around Costco parking lot and heard so many cars honking because drivers thought other drivers were too slow to park or to turn or pedestrians were crossing too slow. But in our cultural mentality we should not consider God to be slow. Not at all. Instead, we must consider how God has been patient with us and with our country. Once, the evangelist Billy Graham wrote that his wife Ruth said this about America, “If God does not judge America. He will have to send a letter of apology to Sodom and Gomorrah.[c] ” [Pic 3] We have sinned greatly against the Lord, personally, locally, and nationally. God should have already punished us and burned us up. But He has not because God is patient. God is patiently waiting for all of us to repent and come back to Him. There are many more people not only in America, but around the world who needs to hear the gospel message, repent, and receive salvation. God’s heart is that no one should perish but repent and be saved. This truth was also taught in the Old Testament. Ezekiel 33:11 reads, “Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?’” In our human idea, we inerrantly think that God loves only those who are good or only those who go to church and carry their Bibles. But God loves sinners and is patiently waiting for many to repent and turn to Him. Actually, God is waiting for a certain number of sinners to repent and come back to Him before the final judgment. Once, Jesus said that God knows the number of hairs we have on our head. God knows the number of souls that will be saved before the end. Romans 11:25 reads, “25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” We should remember this that delay is not denial. All sinners, including us, must heed God’s warning, because some day His patience will run out. Then the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, when people least expect him.
Look at verse 10. “10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies[d] will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.[e]” Finally, as we have been studying “the day of the Lord” is Jesus’ return to destroy the heavens and the earth. But after his terrible judgment, he will establish a beautiful new heaven and a new earth for God’s people to dwell in forever. This will be a terrible wonderful day. A terrible day of terror and judgment for those who scoffed and mocked Jesus’ return, but a wonderful day for believers who had faithfully waited for his return. Isaiah 13:6 reads, “Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!” Who are those who should wail and cry out? They are not believers, who have been waiting patiently for Jesus’ return. They are those who scoffed and did not believe God’s promises. For it is the day when God yields to His holy justice and brings vengeance upon His enemies. Jeremiah 46:10a reads, “That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, to avenge himself on his foes. The sword shall devour and be sated and drink its fill of their blood.” God’s enemies have always lived as if He had never and will never judge the world. But God’s return will be like a great shock, like one who finds his home robbed of all his precious possessions by a thief in the night. On the other hand, God’s people who have heeded His warning and patiently waiting for Jesus’ return will not be caught off guard. If we know that a robber is coming, we prepare our homes with strong locks, ferocious German shepherd guard dogs, and our shot guns ready. [Pic 4] No, God’s faithful people will be waiting and ready to usher in our Savior and King, Jesus Christ. First Thessalonians 5:2 reads, “2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” Because we are fully aware of “the day of the Lord” we are greatly blessed with spiritual insight that unbelievers cannot foresee. It will be a wonderful day for believers, for it will usher in the new heaven and the new earth that we have been waiting for. There no sin or evil doers will dwell, but God’s holy people will enjoy fellowship with God forever and ever. Yesterday, we had a memorial family meeting for Maria’s and Elena’s mother who recently passed away. Of course, there were tears, but there was also joy with the anticipation because of her faith we will see her again in the kingdom of God. [Pic 5] This is what true believers are waiting for. In fact, in the end of one of his last letters, the Apostle Paul wrote that this is the hope of all true believers. Two Timothy 4:8 reads, “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” May God help us to love the day of Jesus’ appearing—“the day of the Lord will come.”
In this passage, we briefly discussed about the meaning of “the day of the Lord.” Though it doesn’t seem to most people in the world that it will be coming any time soon, we must be ready for Jesus’ return at any time. Just think about this. If we listen to scoffers and believe them that our Lord Jesus will not return, then what is there to live for? If we are all just going to die, let’s do what Apostle Paul said unbelievers will do, “Let’s eat, drink, party, and twist our bodies.” If we don’t live a hedonistic life, then we can follow the nihilistic lifestyle, and live with no meaning or purpose of life. Just mope around, working for our retirement, and hopefully die a painless death. But because we believe Jesus will return on “the day of the Lord,” we have great anticipation, joy, and hope of his return. I thank God for His patience when I lived in sin and disobedience to His commands. Though I was not a scoffer, I did live as if Jesus would not return, satisfying my sinful desires. But I thank God for not sending His final judgment through Jesus’ return before I could repent and accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior as a UIC freshmen in 1983. We should all be thankful that our God is patient. At the same time, be very aware that His patience will one day run out, and “the day of the Lord will come.” May God help us live with this awareness every day and live lives holy and pleasing to Him. Amen.
Footnotes
a. John MacArthur, https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/61-24/the-certainty-of-the-second-coming-part-2
b. 2 Peter 3:9 Some manuscripts on your account
c. https://billygraham.org/story/billy-graham-my-heart-aches-for-america/
d. 2 Peter 3:10Or elements; also verse 12
e. 2 Peter 3:10 Greek found; some manuscripts will be burned up
Questions:
1.Read 2 Pet 3:1-2. How did Peter show his shepherd heart and care for the believers even though he was soon to be executed? What was Peter’s motivation in writing his first and second letter in regards to believers? What is a “sincere mind” or as translated in the NIV “wholesome thinking?”
2. Read 2 Pet 3:3-4. Who were the scoffers? What were they scoffing about? What are some reasons people not want to believe in Jesus’ return? At the end of verse 3, what do you learn about their real motivation for mocking Jesus’ return? (evolutionary uniformity)
3.Read 2 Pet 3:5-6. What do the scoffers deliberately forget? (historical revisionists) What terrible catastrophic event did they completely ignore? How did God use water in His creation and in His judgment?
4.Read 2 Pet 3:7. Read the Old Testament Verses regarding God’s final judgment: Ps 50:1; Isa 13:10; 24:19; Mic 1:4) How will God judge the world in the final days? What are the different possibilities for this judgment in the world?
5.Read 2 Pet 3:8. How is God’s time different from man’s time? (Remember Psalm 90:4) Though the people in the Old Testament time knew this already, why didn’t the scoffers want to accept this truth? What does it mean that God lives in eternity?
6.Read 2 Pet 3:9. Why has God withheld His judgment? What does it mean that God is patient? (Mar 1:15; Luk 24:46-48) What do we learn here about the character of God?
7.Read 2 Pet 3:10. What is the day of the Lord? What does it mean to unbelievers and to believers? What does it mean to you personally?
2 Peter 3:1-10 ESV
3 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,[a] not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies[b] will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.[c]
