The text of 2 Peter 3:10-13 relates the truth of Christ’s second coming. Certain truths are unequivocally revealed there for us to consider and heed. These are:
- The day of the Lord is unknown to us. The phrase, “thief in the night” is used numerous times in scripture to describe that coming. Jesus said, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:42-44). Date predicting doesn’t work. We are in the last days, that is all we know. We can’t look for omens or circumstances to know when Jesus will come again. We just know He will. Preparation comes by living righteously always, not by predicting a date.
- When the Lord comes a second time, it will be the end of the physical universe. God has already destroyed the world once, a truth that scoffers fail to admit (cf. 2 Peter 3:3-6). The method used was water. All most all of humanity and much of the physical life on earth came to an end when a worldwide flood covered the earth. You can read about the event, in the book of Genesis 7. “So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.” (Genesis 7:23-24). It happened once, and the next time will signal the end of the entire universe. “…the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). This is where eternity starts. Either eternity in heaven, or eternal damnation, sentenced on the judgment day.
- The eventual, unpredictable coming of the Lord should lead us to preparation. This is the point, the universe is ending, the only appropriate thing to do is to prepare for eternity. This is done by “holy conduct and godliness.” (2 Peter 3:11). There is no other way to ensure our presence in the “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).
So, the day of the Lord is coming when His longsuffering ends. We don’t know when, be prepared!
