The coming of Jesus Christ and the end of the world are what are discussed in this final section of the book of Second Peter. This is a subject that has fascinated tens of thousands of people for years. Let me tell you that fascination is not what God is looking for by discussing the return of His Son to earth and the end
of the world. All the date guessing for the end of the age is a total waste of time.
Growing up in the church I have heard people ask this question all my life. “Oh, we have heard that the end of time is coming soon but it has been many, many years and we are all still here. “
Well, what does God want to tell us and what do these verses mean?
He wants us to be prepared. You see if we are prepared for Christ’s return we will be ready; but if we are not ready then we will be doomed. Peter is telling us that the first thing to know is that scoffers shall come. Peter uses the term scoffers, or a more up to date word is mockers; they will ridicule the return of Christ and they are willingly ignorant. Know that the mockers shall come in the last days. (We can see many of them today and some are in our families).
Remember the first coming of Jesus Christ to the earth was the vital point of human history. The time between Christ’s first coming and His second coming is called the age of grace, the age when God’s mercy, love and grace are flowing out to the world through His Son, Jesus Christ.
How do I know Jesus is coming again?
Because, I believe the Bible! The Bible has shown itself to be the Word of God, and repeatedly the Bible mentions the Second Coming of Jesus. Now the new birth is important, but a new birth is mentioned only nine times in the Bible. Baptism is important, but it’s only mentioned 20 times in the Bible. Repentance is wonderfully important—it is only mentioned 70 times in the New Testament. BUT the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is mentioned 380 times in the New Testament alone!
In our passage, Peter said that some will ask, “Where is this promise of his coming?” There is that scoffing, ridiculing, mocking, arrogant doubter spitting in the face of Jesus, but the Word of God establishes it as a Truth through out the entirety of the Bible. He has promised, and He cannot lie.
If you look at the Bible as one entire passage, instead of 66 separate books, the whole Bible, one out of every twenty-five verses speak of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus has said He will return, and He won’t break that promise.
The final chapter of human history is now being written. Soon Jesus will return to earth and time will be no more. When? Jesus said that no man can know…. ONLY GOD.
So as always the choice is ours and ours alone. Are we going to attach ourselves to the world and be destroyed with it OR attach our selves to Jesus Christ and enter into the glory of the new world that is coming soon. The choice is always ours. We either follow the trends of the world that are doomed to destruction and hell or else we follow Jesus Christ and enter the new world promised by Him.
Peter tells us that scoffers or mockers walk after their own lusts. They live like they want and they do their own thing. They want everything the world has to offer, and this group of people are unwilling to change their lives, they do not want to repent and they do not want to allow Christ to control their lives. They believe themselves to be little “gods”. That whatever they believe is true has to be true. After all it is in their thoughts.
The mockers ridicule the return of Jesus Christ. They scoff because it has been two thousand years since Jesus came to earth the first time BUT the Bible also says that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord.
They scoff because they say, the world continues on just as it always has so why get so excited and become concerned about the world ending? They believe that the world will continue to go on as it has. The laws of nature will continue to run the universe and keep it stable. The Bible tells us that God is working out HIS plan. The Bible says that no person knows the day or time. even the angels do not know. Not even the Son of God Himself knows (Matthew 24:36) God the Father has the timing planned out to the minute, but He is keeping it close to His chest, so they say. But as I look at the world through the eyes of 2022, I firmly believe that the day of Jesus’ return is rapidly approaching.
Well, what do you believe?