Welcome to Day 2454 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Day 2454 – The Day of the Lord – Daily Wisdom

Putnam Church Message – 09/01/2024

Anticipation of Christ’s Return – The Day of the Lord

2 Peter 3:8-13

Last message: we learned we should be about building God’s kingdom on earth and preparing it as much as humanly possible for Christ’s return when He finalizes God’s kingdom, and that in the end, God Wins!

Today’s passage is 2 Peter 3:8-13, on page 1896 of your Pew Bibles. Because of the complexities of the subject matter, I will read it from the NLT for clarity of flow.

 ⁸ But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. ⁹ The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.^[a]

¹¹ Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, ¹² looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. ¹³ But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.

When I was a younger believer, Bible prophecy was the hottest of all topics. If you wanted to increase attendance at the local church, you just scheduled a prophecy conference or announced your plan to start a sermon series on the book of Revelation. And it seemed like dozens of books on prophecy were coming out every year! It was sometimes hard to keep up. And, yes, I read the entire ‘Left Behind’ series. They were interesting, but as I studied Scripture in more context, I changed how I look at particular ‘end times’ scenarios. Interest in general has cooled over the decades, but you’ll still find fervent fans of end-times teachers.

In light of this curiosity about prophecy and the tendency for some to go overboard on the issue, let me interject a few general facts about the future. I want to share a few essential points of counsel briefly.

First, while some things are revealed about the future, much still remains a mystery. One of the marks of immaturity in the Christian life is to read more into the biblical text than is actually there. We can be sure of the big picture regarding Bible prophecy, but many details remain shrouded in obscurity.

Second, when searching for answers, continue to leave room for questions. Try not to make the agreement on the particulars of future events| a basis for fellowship with other believers. If you agree on the fundamental saving truths of the faith related to the triune God and the person and work of Christ in His incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension, then cut each other some slack on how Christ’s return will pan out. Be tolerant of those who don’t see things as clearly as you do.

Third, though no one knows all the details, don’t hesitate to stand firm on those outlined in Scripture: Christ will physically return, there will be a final judgment, heaven and hell are real, and the resurrection of our bodies is a certainty. These things are set forth clearly in the Bible so that you can count on them. In recent years, the pendulum seems to have swung from being obsessed with details to being ignorant of the big picture. Balance is needed here, as always. Ultra-dogmatism is unhealthy, but endless indecision on doctrinal views is unwise. If we don’t have at least tentative answers, the seekers will find cults that do.

Prophetic events never fail to pluck the strings of our imaginations. Curious about the future, we are forever searching for what lies beyond the visible horizon. Scientists, philosophers, historians, politicians, and even fortune-tellers make their forecasts and gain followers, but no source of information can be compared to the Bible. When it comes to trustworthy, inspired truth we can count on_; this Book not only stands out, it stands absolutely alone.

Peter has already established the authority of the Bible as a source of truth about the past and present (1:19-21). He warned of the coming judgment that would catch unbelievers by surprise (2:1-22) and put scoffers in their places (3:1-7). Peter wrote this letter to remind believers of sound teaching,>to encourage diligence in the faith,>and to strengthen biblical foundations of beliefs and practices. Through his warnings, reminders, and promises, Peter urged diligence in light of the future hope of the coming of Christ and the glory that will come when the wicked are judged and the righteous rewarded. Now, in 3:8-13, Peter further develops this encouraging hope.

-3:8-9 —

Peter’s readers were facing tough times in the present world order of that 1^st century —persecuted by emperors and governors, threatened by false teaching, belittled by scoffers, tempted to sin, and pushed to defect from the faith. Hoping to calm their spirits, Peter reassured them that just as God had put a stop to the world’s wickedness in the days of Noah, He will do so again (3:3-4). He reminds them that a day is coming when wrong will be righted, and the right will rule (3:4-7). The “present heavens and earth” are marked for judgment.

At the beginning of 3:8, Peter urges us to take note of one thing in response to the mocking of skeptics who doubt that God will judge them. When Peter says that for God, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day, he’s not giving us some secret key to unlock prophecy,|in which we interpret every day as a thousand years| and set some date for the end of the world. Instead, he alludes to Psalm 90:4: For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours. The idea is that as far as God is concerned, our finite perception of time is irrelevant. What comprises time on earth in no way impacts God’s master plan. He is timeless—that is, He dwells above and apart from the cause-and-effect flow of time as we perceive it. It was Isaiah who wrote,

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
⁹ For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. (Isa. 55:8-9).

Why does Peter mention this theological truth? Because the scoffers rest their point based on a human view of time, suggesting that a long delay in Christ’s coming implies that God doesn’t keep His promises. From the perspective of finite human beings, God often appears to take His time to intervene. He frequently seems slow. We would love to push Him into fulfilling His promises or rush His plan. But God does things according to His own mysterious timetable. This doesn’t mean God doesn’t care about rescuing and rewarding the righteous. Just the opposite! Peter claims that God’s “delay” of judgment makes room for His mercy!

In 3:9, Peter refers to God’s patient plan. God is not negligent about His promises. He is deliberately holding back the events of the end times in order to give as many people as possible an opportunity to turn to Christ and be saved. Seen from this perspective, the Lord is not slow . . . He’s patient. He’s not tardy . . . He’s deliberately delaying. He’s not indifferent . . . He’s merciful. His plan is unfolding exactly as He has ordained it. The apostle Paul also wrote about this: (God,) who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. (1 Tim. 2:4).

To make this personal, imagine if Christ had returned just two weeks before you came to faith. Or two days. You would have missed salvation before the fires of judgment fell! Now, apply this fact to others you know |who do not yet know Christ. Put their names in 3:9 instead of Peter’s: The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. That changes the perspective.

But God’s patience isn’t only a benefit for unbelievers. As He delays the coming judgment, it gives straying believers the opportunity to get their lives back on track. It leaves room for us to repent—not from damnation to salvation but from a spiritually barren life to a spiritually fruitful life. God is not only waiting patiently for non-Christians to believe, but He’s also granting time for us to share the good news of salvation with the lost (Rom. 10:17). So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

–3:10-13 —

God’s delay is not eternal. There is an unrevealed limit to this present period of patience. It’s true that God, in His generous mercy, is holding back judgment. But Peter assures us that this time of mercy will come to an abrupt end—“But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief.” (3:10).

“The day of the Lord” is a general title for any time of judgment, but Peter uses it to refer specifically to the final judgment yet to come. It usually doesn’t refer to a single twenty-four-hour period. The term “day” is used figuratively, as we might say, “Back in Grandpa’s day, people didn’t have computers.” The Old Testament refers to any period of time when God sent judgment on the wicked, so there were many historical “days of the Lord”—like the flood of Noah or the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah. But they all had common features. Isaiah’s words describe this well: “For see, the day of the Lord is coming—the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger. The land will be made desolate, and all the sinners destroyed with it.” (Isa. 13:9). Yet amid the judgment, God promises that the righteous will be saved, as Peter preached on Pentecost  (Acts 2:20-21): The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.²¹ But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’^[a]

Peter answers several big-picture questions in 2 Peter 3:10-12, but not always in the precise detail we might want. (Bulletin Insert)

1. When will the day of the Lord come?
2. What will happen when the day of the Lord comes?
3. How will the day of the Lord come?
4. So, what should we do in response to the coming day of the Lord?

First, when? Peter doesn’t say. He avoids the question! Instead, he wants to warn that the day of the Lord will come “like a thief.” This is a vivid word picture that Christ Himself used to describe His own arrival in judgment (Matt. 24:43). Paul uses the analogy, too: “For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.” (1 Thes. 5:2). Just as a thief comes suddenly and unexpectedly, without announcement or warning, so the end-times judgment will begin when people least expect it.

Second, what? Three phrases in 3:10 tell us what will happen when this judgment comes. (Figuratively or Literally) The “heavens will pass away,” the “elements will disappear,” and “the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.” It indicates a purging of that which is evil. Peter provides further details of this devastating picture in 3:12, which describes the heavens burning and the elements melting with intense heat. That’s not a pleasant picture. Just as the former world in the days of Noah was wiped clean with all-consuming floodwaters, the present world will endure more significant purging by fire.

Third, how? Peter describes the coming destruction with three terms in 3:10: “terrible noise,” “elements disappear,” and “in fire.” The images all refer to the familiar sounds and sensations that come with a disastrous fire. As a forest fire builds from mere cracklings to an uncontrollable ocean of flames, it sounds like a violent wind roaring through the trees. But instead of stripping off leaves and branches or felling several trees, forest fires leave behind a charred, barren wasteland, devoid of life. With this familiar analogy, Peter pictures the obliteration of the present world. Peter describes the destruction of the “elements melt away” Evil purged from the world (3:10, 12). In the ancient world, this didn’t refer to atomic particles as it does in modern science, but to the basic building blocks of the perceivable, material world—the earth, water, and wind. Peter says all these things will be wiped clear (clean) to make way for something new.

Finally, so what? What should we believers do in light of the end of all things? As we know it. In 3:11-13, Peter answers this question. Because everything will be destroyed with fire, what holy and godly lives you should live” (3:11). There is no room for becoming attached to the material things of this world— putting our hope in them, investing in them, relying upon them. They will all be burned to nothing! One of the reasons I cannot be dogmatic on whether this fire judgement is figurative or literal is because we, as believers, will face an accounting for our works while here on earth. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15

¹⁰ Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.

¹² Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. ¹³ But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. ¹⁴ If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

At the same time, we should be “ looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along.” (3:12). In a certain sense, as we do the work of evangelism and share the gospel, we participate in speeding the return of Christ. God already knows how many and who will be saved, and the end will come when that number is fulfilled (see Matt. 24:14; Rom. 11:24-25). However, this will last until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. Don’t go overboard on this, though. There’s no way for us to know who or how many, so even though it’s true that our work of evangelism hastens the end, we may be doing our work in the middle of His timetable!

Peter also says we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. (3:13). (Remade) Our focus should be outside this present temporary world as we look forward to the perfect eternal state, free from wickedness. The term “new heavens and new earth” is first used in Isaiah to describe the new condition after the tribulation period, when Christ sets up His kingdom on earth (Isa. 65:17; 66:22). It also refers to the eternal state after the Judgement Seat of Christ for believers, and the Great White Throne Judgment, for unbelievers. After that, the new (remade) creation will replace the old (Rev. 21:1). Peter seems to refer generally to both, emphasizing the final, ultimate state of things, after the wicked of this world are judged. Peter compresses these two end-times events in a general description. His interest is not to set a timeline but asserting that the present world is temporary and the future is eternal world.

Reflecting the same kind of thought as Peter, the apostle Paul sums up the Christian hope this way: ¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! ¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (2 Cor. 4:17-18).

APPLICATION: 2 PETER 3:8-13 (Bulletin)

Clean Up, Look Up, Speak Up

In conjunction with the four Big Picture Questions, our marching orders as believers awaiting the Lord’s return can be summed up in three commands: Clean up your life. Look up and expect His coming. Speak up every chance you get. Let’s spend a little time reflecting on each of these applications of the end times.

First, what areas of your life require some cleanup? Don’t rush through this; it’s serious business. All of us have sin in our lives. John wrote, ⁸ If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. (1 Jn. 1:8). Even the most mature believer has areas they need to address. To help prick your conscience, study Paul’s contrasting lists of the “deeds of the flesh” and the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:19-23. Mark the fleshly deeds that are present in your life—and the spiritual fruit that is absent. Then go to God. The apostle John continued, ⁹ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. (1 Jn. 1:9). Confess your sin, seek forgiveness, and ask for strength to overcome sin in this particular area.

Second, how can you live each day in constant expectation of His return? What can we do to remind ourselves of the reality that this present world is temporary but that He will usher in an eternal kingdom of righteousness? You might test your perspective by examining how you spend your time and money. Do you invest in eternal things that will survive His coming and gain a reward? Or are you merely acquiring things that will burn up in the end? Study 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. I suggest you review your checkbook and expenses and note your donations to God’s work. Take a close look at your calendar. Are the things you’re building made of temporary stuff like wood, hay, and straw that won’t survive the flames? Or are they quality, spiritual elements that will survive the coming judgment? Don’t stop there, though. How can you adjust your budget and schedule to focus more often on the essential things in anticipation of His return?

Third, with whom can you share Christ before it’s too late? Imagine if Christ returned tomorrow and the judgment began. Who would you miss in eternity? Who would you be grieved to see at the Great White Throne Judgment? Pray for them. Swallow your pride and lovingly share the truth with them. Communicate your concern. They may not listen. They may mock you. On the other hand, your words may be just the thing that nudges them one step closer to God’s eternal kingdom.

So, what should you do in light of the coming day of the Lord? Clean up. Look up. Speak up. These three commands alone will keep us plenty busy until the Lord returns. Make it your priority to build God’s Kingdom on earth until Christ returns to complete that kingdom.

Next week, we will conclude the letter of 2 Peter in the section Anticipation of Christ’s Return, in a message titled ‘Living in Troubled Times.’ Invest time reading 2 Peter 3:14-18 for next week’s message.