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A story is told of two preachers who were standing on the side of the road with a sign that proclaimed THE END IS NEAR. TURN BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE. A car zipped passed them and the driver yelled, “You crazy fanatics. Get off the road!” A few seconds later, the preachers heard the squeal of brakes, followed by a big splash. One of the preachers shook his head and said, “That’s the third one today. You think maybe we ought to change the sign to BRIDGE IS OUT?”
When it comes to the subject of prophecy and the end of the world, there is no end of opinion, speculation, and argument. Scholarship in the field abounds, text books and fictional novels line our shelves, and it’s hard to find a nationally known preacher who has not delivered a series from Revelation or Daniel at least once in their career. There is no question that prophecy is popular in a lot of Christian circles. But there are also those who simply do not like the subject. One well known pastor received a letter that described the subject of Biblical prophecy as endless arguments over obscure Bible verses with no benefit to the average Christian. What possible benefit is there to prophecy? Jesus is coming back—so what? There’s a rapture and tribulation and something about a millennium—so what? The end is near—so what? About 2000 years ago, one of Jesus’ followers, a man by the name of Peter, addressed that very question. He was writing the second of two letters that bore his name, and in it, he was correcting some teaching that was spreading about the second coming of Jesus, teaching that was proving to be upsetting to the Christians of his day. Jesus’ followers lived in the expectation that Jesus would return. But there were skeptics who said, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:4). In other words, they were saying, “What’s up, you crazy fanatics? You said He’s coming back, but here we are—still! I mean, the world is exactly the way it’s been since the beginning. And Jesus isn’t back. Maybe He isn’t coming back at all. We ought to party like it’s 65 AD!” Peter replies by challenging their assumptions: 1. Challenges their assumptions that the world continues the same as it has since it was created. In 2 Peter 3:5-7, Peter reminds them that there was a catastrophic flood. Not only that, the next big catastrophe will be that of fire. So no, all things are not the same as they’ve always been. 2. Challenges their assumptions about the Lord. In verse 8, he points out that God is not subject to the measurement of time. “One day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.” Peter is not giving us a formula here—he could have easily said, one day is with the Lord as 275 years, and 5 months as 3 weeks. It would mean the same thing: time is meaningless to God. So why the apparent delay? Verse 9 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” The heartbeat of God is for people to come to know Him as their Lord and Savior. Any perceived waiting period is for people to repent. Three principles of living in light of the fact that the end is near: 1. Living with an eternal conduct (2 Peter 3:10-13) Since Jesus is coming back, how then should we live? In holy conduct and godliness. He says is verse 11, “what manner of persons ought you to be. . .” Is our lifestyle and behavior in conformity to what God says? Not only do we live in holy conduct and godliness, but we live in hope and expectation. Vs. 13 tells us that we “look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” There’s a new world coming. All the rotten stuff in this world will pass, and we look forward to a place “where righteousness dwells.” 2. Living with diligent outlook 14-16 We live in peace because our lives are pure. (14) Our character and reputation are spotless and blameless, not because we’re great people, but because of Christ. We live in expectantly because of Christ’s patience (15). As we mentioned earlier, God is patiently waiting for people to repent. We live in caution because some would twist the Scripture (16). We are students of the Scripture, not easily swayed by thoughts and opinions not founded on the Word of God. 3. Living with steadfast growth 17-18 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. Not only are we careful to avoid falling in our faith, but we are to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (verse 18). There are several things we can do to help that growth:
There’s a story told of a man who satisfied a life-long ambition by purchasing a high quality barometer for his home. His excitement soon turned to disappointment when he saw that the needle appeared to be stuck, pointing to the sector marked “Hurricane.” He tried shaking it, recalibrating it, and even cursing at it. Finally, he wrote a scathing letter to the company, demanding a full refund. He mailed the letter on his way out-of-town for a business trip. But when he returned, he found the barometer was missing. . . along with his house! The barometer had been right all along. The end is near…so what? Are you ignoring the needle on the barometer or will you purpose to live in expectation of Jesus’ return?
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