Nov. 29, 2009
Background Scripture: 2 Peter 3
Devotional Reading: Psalms 42

Invited back to a celebration at my first pastorate, I told my former parishioners that they were fortunate I had been their pastor when I was fresh from seminary and “knew everything.”

Now, I realize there were a lot of things I only thought I knew. But although today my faith is less all-encompassing, it is also a lot deeper.

For me, this is apparent when I contemplate that in theology which we call “last things.” In his book, Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship*, Anglican N.T. Wright wrote: “Whatever you decide about the chronology of life after death, ‘heaven’ by itself is not the ultimate destination of the Christian. Heaven … is a temporary resting place, in between bodily death and bodily resurrection.”
Just the facts

This is the view of some Christians and it is based upon a number of Biblical texts. There are, however, other Christians who hold another view – also based upon a number of Biblical texts.
And, there are some – and at this stage of my life, I am one of them – who do not claim to have a schedule of “last things,” convinced instead that faith is not diminished by that lack of detailed certainty. Details can be a substitute for trust in the God who will sustain us in those “last things.”

Among the details surrounding many of the letters of the New Testament is the expectation that the return of Christ was imminent. For example, Paul’s seeming denigration of marriage must be read in that light: “… brethren, the appointed time has grown very short; from now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none …” (1 Cor. 7).

Most Christians in the early Church, it appears, believed Christ would return within their own lifetimes. 2 Peter attempts to deal with this expectation: “… you must understand this, that scoffers will come in the last days scoffing, following their own passions and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming?’” (2 Peter 3:3). Scoffers today may demand: “What happened to the Second Coming?”

Although scoffers charge that nothing has changed since the prophets first predicted the Day of the Lord, the world and society have changed remarkably (3:5-7). Furthermore, the divine minute is not as the human minute, for “… with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (3:8,9).
From the human point of view, God seems to be late with His promise, but His time is infinitely different.

 A dangerous desire

There is another response that is often missed: God’s will is not that “all should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (3:9b). There seem to be lots of people today who look for the Second Coming of Christ primarily so that he can punish “unbelievers” and “wrong-believers.”

But 2 Peter says that God’s purpose is to win repentance from all and those who desire the Day of the Lord to punish others may be endangering themselves. Perhaps God delays the Return to give the Gospel more time.

The most important contribution of this epistle, however, is not the details of the Second Coming, but its practical imperatives. If readers believe in the Return of Christ, then they must live in readiness for that event – whenever and however it comes.
“… What sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness … Therefore, beloved, since you wait for these, be zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace” (3:11,14).

We need to be less concerned with the when, how and who, and more with our own readiness to receive the Christ whenever and however he returns. And may our constant prayer be: “Oh Lord, abide with us in the end of the day, in the end of our life and in the end of this world.”

I’m willing to leave the rest to the Lord. Are you?

*William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. 1995.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Rev. Althouse may write to him in care of this publication.