EXPLORE THE TEXT
Believers are to live in expectation of Christ’s return.
8 Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact:
With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay,
but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish
but all to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief;
on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise,
the elements will burn and be dissolved,
and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.
In the opening verses of chapter 3, Peter noted that this was his second letter.
It is reasonable to assume that 1 Peter was his initial correspondence.
But many of the same problems existed,
including a rejection of the Old Testament prophets and of apostolic authority.
Scoffers were planting themselves into the churches and raising doubts about
both Jesus’s return and impending judgment.
But Peter assured His audience that Jesus was coming back
and that the God who had judged the world in the past would judge it again.
note that our age has a lot to do with how we respond.
Verse 8 is a reference to words composed by Moses in Psalm 90:4.
Compared to the eternal and holy God,
human beings live remarkably brief and inconsequential lives.
God created time-and therefore transcends time-
is applied by Peter to the doctrine of Jesus’s inevitable return.
When we consider that time holds no power over God
and that He exists beyond its confines,
the delay in Christ’s coming should not trouble us.
To the omnipotent and Almighty God, a thousand years passes as swiftly as one day.
Peter instructed us to anchor our faith in this timeless truth.
Even though thousands of years have passed since Jesus promised to return,
we should not be disheartened by the passage of that time.
The Greek wording suggests loitering or unnecessary hesitation.
Contemporary readers might compare it to being late for an appointment because of negligence.
But God has a reason for the apparent delay in the coming of Christ.
While the heretics cast dispersions by emphasizing a thirty-year delay, they did not grasp His larger plan.
The delay meant redemption for many.
Jesus’s supposed delay is rooted in a heavenly Father who is patient toward us.
It is God’s expressed will that all come to repentance
and enter a personal relationship with Him through Jesus.
He does not want anyone to perish,
so He delays final judgment until as many as possible come to Him.
Some scholars believe Peter was not referring to every person,
though God’s desire for their salvation is clear.
Instead, he was focusing on those who were being deceived by the false teachers.
In that case, Peter would agree with Jude
that believers have a responsibility to snatch wandering souls from the fire (Jude 23).
Conclude by identifying God’s purpose for delaying the return of Christ.
describe characteristics of a thief.
Such patience is not a license for indifference,
but a call to fervent faith until the day of the Lord.
Jesus will return like a thief,
coming when people least expect it and feel secure.
Jesus used similar language to describe His return,
which Peter heard (Matt. 24:42-44).
Peter’s words remind us of the danger of seeking “signs” of Jesus’s return.
If Jesus is to come like a thief, no definite sign can point to the time or season.
The signs in Scripture are warnings to always stay alert
and to be found faithful when Jesus does come back (24:46).
Affirming the return of Christ, Peter challenged believers in the way they should live in the meantime.