November 29 - Day of the Lord

November 29 - Day of the Lord - 2 Peter 3:1-13

Jude 17-18 parallels 2 Peter 3:2-3.

Notice in 2 Peter 3:2 that Peter links the authority of the apostles to the historical authority of the prophets. He writes this way to assure continuity of the Gospel and authentication for Christian preaching. Tyndale's commentary states that 2 Peter 3:1-2 tells us to remember who brought the word of God and 2 Peter 3:3-7 reminds us of the power of the Word to create and destroy.

Peter emphasized the second coming of the Messiah in his first letter and follows up with further thoughts. As I read 2 Peter 3:3-7, I realized that I have heard people speak these same words. I remember having conversations with my father and other close Christian mentors about this. "If nothing has changed on this earth in the entire time that it has been in existence, why should we believe that it is going to change now?" My father finally told me that one way or other, we would be in heaven ... either through our own death or the return of the Messiah. And either way would be acceptable. He was right.

2 Peter 3:5 states that people who scoff at the return of the Messiah are deliberately forgetting their history. They are ignoring the truth of God's activity in the creation of this world and the destruction of the world in the time of Noah.

The present heaven and earth are reserved for fire (2 Peter 3:7). As you read the Revelation to John, you will find that fire is a primary destructive force unleashed upon the earth and the heavens. We are in no position to question God on His timing or His intervention into this world. We are to simply trust in the certainty of the things that He has done.

Peter discussion on God's timing is one of those passages that has allowed me to learn about trusting in God and what patience really means. God's idea of when things should happen tends to be completely different than what I think should happen. However, I am generally operating under the assumption that I have a limited amount of time left on this earth, so I have to ensure that things are done while I am here to see it happen.

God, on the other hand, is not bound by the constraints of time. He does not have a limited amount of time to deal with the issues on this earth. For heaven's sake, it took him thousands of years and many generations to get from Abraham, through the calling of a nation, through the rejection and acceptance and rejection and acceptance and rejection that the nation Israel dealt with in its relationship with him, and finally to the point of Jesus coming to earth to act as the greatest sacrifice. Any of us would have been finished with that garbage in a few weeks!

God's desire is not just to punish, but to bring everyone to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

Peter is very clear, though. The Day of the Lord will come (2 Peter 3:10). The destruction will happen. Do not ignore this. Just as he taught about holiness in his first letter, he repeats himself and tells us that it is important to live holy and godly lives. He has promised that this day will come. We believe God's promises and just as we believe the promise of the destruction of the present heaven and earth, we believe the promise of a new heaven and earth which will be a home of righteousness.

Holiness leads to heaven.