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The Day Of The Lord from Don Tines on Vimeo.
The Certainty of the Second Coming
TEXT: II Peter 3:1-10
THESIS: Peter responds to arguments made against the second coming and answers those allegations by providing support for Christ’s return.
INTRODUCTION: Throughout the centuries the reality of Christ’s coming has formed the crux of Christianity. It is the church’s blessed hope, her utmost longing, and the great climax of salvation, a time of redemption for believers and a time of judgment for God’s enemies. It marks the inauguration of Christ’s earthly kingdom during which the saints will reign with Him in holiness. The hope of bodily resurrection, spiritual reward and a righteous world system are all tied to Jesus’ return. It is no wonder that we find tremendous comfort in the second coming. We long for the return of our Savior—the Judge who would make all things right.
The devil recognizes how important this doctrine is to the church. When Christians live in anticipation of Christ’s promised return, they demonstrate spiritual zeal and enthusiasm, recognizing that they will soon give an account to their Master. But, when believers forget the second coming they become absorbed in the temporal and grow apathetic and cold toward the eternal. Satan knows that if he can get the church to discount the importance of Christ’s return, or even completely deny its reality, he can remove a very significant source of Christian hope and motivation. Because of that the devil continually places skeptics and false teachers within the church, men who reject, minimize, or alter Jesus’ promise. Such cynics who plague Christendom today were also around in Peter’s time.
Peter responds directly to the false teachers’ attacks. First, he lays out their arguments; second, he answers those allegations, providing support Christ’s return and finally, he concludes by assuring us that, no matter what the heretics say, God’s future judgment is certain.
SCRIPTURE READING: PRAYER:
I. First Peter Gives The Arguments Against The Second Coming Vs. 3-4
3 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” Vs. 3-4
A. The rejection of Christ’s return begins by denying the Word of God.
1. Although they recognized the promise of His coming they simply discounted it as false.
2. Instead of submitting to God’s revelation false teachers rejected that reality and disregard any accountability.
3. As a result, they ridicule those who hold to God’s Word, flaunt their own immorality, and foolishly cling to a worldview.
4. The apostle addressed each of these factors unmasking their motivation.
B. Peter says that those who reject Christ’s coming are characterized by Ridicule. Vs. 3a
in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing Vs. 3a
1. False teachers try to intimidate people through mocking and sarcastic ridicule.
a. The early church believed Christ’s return was imminent.
b. The apostles thought it could occur even within their lifetime.
c. As followers of Christ, they longed to be reunited with their Lord and to see His kingdom established on the earth.
2. Time soon threatened the church’s sense of expectancy.
a. Apparently, some of the Christians to whom Peter wrote were beginning to doubt if Jesus was even coming back.
b. They worried that their hope was not as sure as they had first believed.
3. False teachers are quick to capitalize on fears and plant seeds of doubt nurturing anxiety.
a. As a first line of defense, Peter exhorted his readers to know this first of all. (as a matter not of chronological sequence, but rather about first priority.)
b. Peter’s goal is to warn us of the false teachers’ tactics—namely, that they were purposefully denying the return of Christ in order to indulge their own sinful exploits without facing consequences.
4. Peter used a common New Testament expression “in the last days” referring to the entire time between Christ’s first and second comings.
a. Throughout this period mockers will come, seeking to undermine the church’s confidence in Christ’s return.
b. Peter was indicating the certainty of their presence within the church reminding us that there have always been those who mocked the promise of judgment or deliverance.
c. Such blasphemies will continue until the end of redemptive history.
C. Secondly Peter says that those who reject Christ’s coming are characterized by Immorality Vs. 3b
following their own evil desires Vs. 3b
1. Whether or not they admit it, immorality is the real reason that false teachers deny the second coming.
a. The word rendered “following” literally means ” to travel” or “go.” It denotes a course of conduct or long-term behavior.
b. False teachers’ lifestyles focus on their own lusts and sensuality.
c. They deny Christ’s return because they hate the thought of divine judgment.
d. They want the freedom to pursue all kinds of lustful pleasures without any fear of future punishment.
2. In contrast, believers embrace the fact that the Lord will return and that they will give account for their lives, and that He will bestow rewards based on faithfulness.
3. They also believe that when Christ comes He will reveal the secret things of the heart.
4. Those who hope in His return have an incentive for holy living because they realize that “each one of us will give an account of himself to God”.
D. Peter says that those who reject Christ’s coming are characterized by a belief called Uniform itarian-ism Vs. 4
4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation Vs. 4
1. The taunting question “Where is the promise of His coming?” introduces a denial of the Lord’s return based on a revisionist view of history.
2. The false teachers claim that, “ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”
a. In keeping with other New Testament references this is a reference to the Old Testament patriarchs.
b. “Fell asleep” is a New Testament euphemism for death.
3. The heretics’ argument was simple. If everything continues just as it was from the beginning of creation (meaning that the universe is a divinely created but closed, naturalistic system of cause and effect), then divine intervention—including the return of Christ—must be ruled out.
a. In modern times, that view is known as uniform itarian ism.
b. Contending that the present is the key to the past, uniform itarian ism asserts that the only natural processes that have ever operated in the past are the same processes at work today.
c. It categorically denies divine intervention throughout world history, most notably opposing both six-day creation and the global Flood.
4. The rise of modern uniform itarian ism occurred largely because of the efforts of the nineteenth-century British lawyer and geologist Charles Lyell.
a. His book Principles of Geology had a profound impact on the scientific community of his day.
b. In fact, Lyell’s uniform itarian ism was a pillar on which Charles Darwin established his theory of evolution. (Darwin took a copy of Principles of Geology with him during his famous voyage on the Beagle to the Galapagos and other islands off the Pacific coast of South America in 1831-32.)
5. A biblical view of the universe sees creation as an open system—in which God has ordained a uniform operation of natural causes, but also a universe in which He has intervened and still does intervene.
a. Those who deny this say that God’s involvement in history is limited at best.
b. Like the false teachers of Peter’s day, they deny the promises of Scripture (including Christ’s return) on the basis of their conveniently devised worldview.
II. After Revealing The Heretics Arguments against the second coming Peter reveals The Four Arguments For His Coming. Vs. 1-2 & 5-9
Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 8 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. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
A. Peter refutes allegations presented by the false teachers first by reminding us of God’s Word. Vs. 1-2
Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. Vs. 1-2
1. Peter’s opening words of this section, “This is now, beloved, the second letter,” indicate that the apostle also wrote other letters to this same audience.
a. This expression is probably a reference to 1 Peter.
b. The apostle’s pastoral heart and genuine concern for his readers is expressed in the term “Friends” (cf. 3:8), it is used frequently by Paul and John.
c. Peter wrote both of his inspired letters in part to remind his readers of certain basic doctrinal and spiritual truths.
d. The expression “stirring up” indicates his effort to disturb any complacency. To make clear the spiritual urgency concerning false teachers.
e. The apostle actively and aggressively opposed the heretics, hoping to protect his flock from menacing wolves.
f. To do that, he wrote reminders of the what believers believe.
2. Throughout the Old Testament, the prophets continually predict God’s judgment.
a. For example, Isaiah proclaims: “The Lord will come in fire and His chariots like the whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For the Lord will execute judgment by fire and by His sword on all flesh, and those slain by the Lord will be many. (Isa 66)
b. The prophet Malachi echoes this theme, announcing: “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” (Mal 4:1-3)
c. From the beginning of the Old Testament prophets to the end—the theme of God’s final wrath (often called “the day of the Lord”) is clearly spelled out.
3. The New Testament is no exception from Matthew to Revelation Jesus’ return is reiterated time and time again.
a. Twenty-three of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament explicitly refer to the Lord’s return. Of those four that do not (Galatians, Philemon, 2 John, and 3 John),
1) Gal 5:5 does allude to it: “For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.”
2) 2 John 8 speaks of the believer’s future reward, a doctrine that finds its ultimate fulfillment after the second coming.
3) In reality, only Philemon and 3 John are completely silent on the subject.
b. In the two hundred sixty chapters of the New Testament, there are about three hundred instances in which Christ’s apostles make reference to His second coming.
c. In proclaiming their great hope, the apostles were merely reflecting the promise of their Savior, “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds” (Matt 16:27; cf. 25:31; 26:64; Mark 13:3-27; Luke 12:40).
B. Peter refutes allegations presented by the false teachers by reminding us of History Vs. 5-7
5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
1. As a result of their self-induced blindness, the false teachers discounted two monumental events in history that disprove their views the first of which is creation.
a. By the Word of God, the Lord instantly brought the universe, or heavens, into being (Gen 1:1).
b. He needed no preexisting materials and no long periods of time.
c. Scripture, most notably Gen 1-2, supports a relatively recent creation and a young earth—one specially created out of nothing in six consecutive, twenty-four-hour days.
d. The phrase existed long ago does not imply a creation billions of years old. Several thousand years would certainly have been sufficient for Peter’s use of that phrase.
e. A young-earth view (in which the universe is not more than ten thousand years old) is clearly supported by the larger context of Genesis.
2. Connected to creation is the second historical fact that false teachers deny which is the flood.
a. As God created the heavens, the earth was divinely formed out of water and by water. God shaped the earth between two areas of watery mass (Gen 1:6-9; cf. Prov 8:27-29).
b. On the second day of creation, He collected the upper waters into something like a vapor canopy around the entire earth, and the lower waters into underground reservoirs, rivers, lakes, and seas.
c. Then, on the third day, He separated the land from the water, allowing dry earth to appear (Gen 1:10).
d. Adam and Eve lived on that pre-Flood world, underneath the vapor canopy that God had created, they were shielded from the sun’s harmful radiation. As a result, they lived much longer than human beings do today (cf. Gen 5:5).
e. Despite the ideal environment they enjoyed, the spiritual climate of the pre-Flood world quickly worsened.
f. In fact, the wickedness of their descendants grew so great that God decided to judge the world and drown all but eight of its inhabitants (Gen 6:5-7,11-13).
g. The world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.
h. Peter’s reference to world is not primarily to the physical earth, because the planet itself was not obliterated, but rather to the sinful world order.
i. The term flooded which the English word cataclysm means “to flood,” or “inundate,” implying complete, destructive overflow.
3. The false teachers of Peter’s time refused to view world history properly.
a. Due to their self-centeredness they provide a classic example of willful ignorance.
b. Like today’s revisionist historians, the false teachers deliberately denied both the creation story and the Flood—the two catastrophic events that easily disprove their uniformitarian views.
4. Peter repeats Gen 9:11,15 where God promised to never again destroy the earth by means of a universal flood.
a. But that does not mean that He will never again enact global judgment.
b. On the contrary, by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire.
c. While the pre-Flood world system was drowned by water, the present world system will be consumed by flames.
d. That future judgment, as with the Flood, will come by the power and authority of His word.
5. Peter’s warning, then, is clear: God has kept the universe for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
a. Just as in Noah’s time, that final day of judgment will be for ungodly men and not for believers.
b. The Lord will deliver His own out of the world before He unleashes His final wrath (cf. Mal 3:16-18).
C. Peter refutes allegations presented by the false teachers by reminding us of what eternity is all about. Vs. 8
8 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.
1. Most likely Peter had Psalm 90:4, “For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by, or as a watch in the night.”
a. Peter’s paraphrase from that psalm encourages us not to let this one fact escape our notice—that God’s perspective on time is much different from humanity’s.
b. The amount of earthly time that passes is of no consequence from God’s timeless perspective.
c. A moment is no different from an eon, and eons pass like moments to the eternal God.
2. What may seem like a long time to us, like a thousand years, is actually short, like one day, in God’s sight.
a. In context, Peter is contending that, while Christ’s return may seem far off to human beings, it is imminent from God’s perspective.
b. Finite people must not confine an infinite God to their time schedule.
c. The Lord Jesus Christ will return at the exact moment determined by God in eternity past.
d. Those who foolishly demand that God operate according to their time frame ignore that He is the “High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity” (Isa 57:15).
e. Similarly, those who argue that Christ will not return because He has not yet returned demonstrate the height of folly.
D. Finally Peter’s support for the second coming is summed up in our view of the character of God Himself. Vs. 9
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
1. The thrust of Peter’s argument is this: The reason Christ’s return is not immediate is because God is patient with sinners.
a. Any waiting is attributable only to God’s gracious longsuffering.
b. It is not that He is indifferent, powerless, or distracted. Instead, it is just the opposite.
c. Because He is merciful and forbearing, He delays so that elect sinners might come to repentance.
2. Despite the ridicule of the scoffers, the Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness.
a. Slow means “delayed,” or “late,” implying the idea of “loitering.” None of that applies to God; His seeming slowness is not due to lack of ability, forgetfulness, or apathy.
b. In fulfilling His promise, God is working everything precisely according to His perfect plan and schedule.
c. That same principle applied to Christ’s first coming: “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law” (Gal 4:4).
3. “Patient” is a compound word combining “large” with “great anger.”
a. Peter used it here to show that God has a vast capacity for storing up anger and wrath before it spills over in judgment.
b. While that judgment is inescapable and deadly, God’s merciful patience beforehand gives the chosen the opportunity for reconciliation and salvation.
c. His wrath toward the individual sinner is immediately appeased whenever that person repents and believes the gospel (cf. Luke 15:7,10; Acts 13:47-48).
d. Those who perish—”utterly destroyed” in eternal hell—suffer damnation because they are dead in their sins and refuse God’s offer of salvation in Christ.
e. At the same time, it is clear from Scripture that the Father takes no delight in the death of the lost: “‘For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,’ declares the Lord God. ‘Therefore, repent and live’”.
f. In fact, God actually offers salvation to all.
Based on his preceding arguments, Peter confidently asserts that the day of the Lord will come. No matter what the false teachers may claim, the evidence against them is overwhelming.
III. Peter Gives Us The Assurance That Divine Judgment Will Come. Vs. 10
10 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 in it will be laid bare.
A. “The day of the Lord” signifies “the extraordinary, miraculous interventions of God in human history for the purpose of judgment” culminating in His final judgment of the wicked on earth and the destruction of the present universe.
1. The Old Testament prophets viewed the final day of the Lord as a day of unparalleled judgment, darkness, and damnation, a day in which the Lord would completely destroy His enemies, vindicate His name, reveal His glory, and establish His kingdom.
2. The New Testament writers also foresaw that day as an awesome and fearful event.
B. According to the book of Revelation, The Day of the Lord will transpire in two stages: during the tribulation (Rev 6:17) and after the millennium (Rev 20:7-10). Afterward, God will establish the new heavens and earth (Rev 21:1).
1. The phrase “the day of the Lord” is found 19 times in the Old Testament 4 times in the New Testament.
2. Six times in the Old Testament they call it “the day of doom” and four times “the day of vengeance.”
3. The New Testament writers name it a day of “wrath,” “visitation,” and “the great day of God, the Almighty” (Rev 16:14).
4. These are horrifying judgments from God rendered because of the world’s overwhelming sinfulness.
C. Peter described the day of the Lord as arriving like a thief, meaning that it will be unexpected, without warning, and disastrous for the unprepared.
1. The apostle Paul used the same comparison when he wrote to the Thessalonians: “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night” (1 Thess 5:2).
2. With the culmination of the final phase of the day of the Lord, the heavens will pass away with a roar—a universal upheaval that Jesus Himself predicted in the Olivet Discourse: “Heaven and earth will pass away” (Matt 24:35).
3. Heavens refers to the visible, physical universe.
4. The term roar is a word that sounds like what it means. It speaks of “a rushing sound,” or “a loud noise,” and also connotes the whizzing, crackling sounds that objects emit as fire consumes them.
5. On that future day, the noise from the disintegrating atoms of the universe will be deafening, unlike anything mortals have ever heard before.
6. Peter expands his earlier statement from verse 7: the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
a. The word elements literally means “ones in a row,” as in letters of the alphabet or numbers.
b. When used in reference to the physical world, it describes the basic atomic components that make up the universe.
c. The intense heat will be so powerful that the earth and its works will be burned up.
d. God’s power will consume everything in the material realm—the entire physical earth—with its civilizations, ecosystems, and natural resources—and the surrounding celestial universe.
e. Yet even in the midst of that mind-boggling destruction, the Lord will protect His sheep.
Conclusion: At the moment, mockers may ridicule and false teachers may scoff. But their disparaging comments and outright insults are only short-lived. One day, Christ will return and God’s judgment will be displayed—a fact that is guaranteed by His promise and undergirded by His power. After He returns, the entire present universe will cease to exist. It will be replaced by a completely new heaven and earth where the righteous will live with God forever. The unrighteous, on the other hand, will face the eternal consequences of their sin.
In light of all this, believers are to wait with eager expectation. After all, Jesus Christ is coming again, and His return is right on schedule.
