What God had planned to do “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4) has come to pass. The law that was merely “a shadow of the good things” has been replaced by “the realities themselves” (Hebrews 10:1). What was impossible through the law: that is, the taking away sin (Hebrews 10:4), has now been done through “Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). What rejoicing! The reality of freedom in Christ is now being proclaimed to sinful man. It is only thirty years since the new covenant was ushered in through the redemptive work of Christ on the cross.
“Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep,
all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”
2nd Peter 3:4
I find it interesting, that after such a short time, scoffers (i.e., mockers) would begin to reveal themselves, seeking to place doubt in the minds of believers. Questioning the validity of the good news with what seems to be a failure on God’s part to fulfill the promise. Now we jump almost 200 years further, and still the promised return has yet to happen. The “naysayers” (i.e., scoffers) are still out there, seeking to place doubt in the minds of believers. How do we combat such thoughts?
But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord
one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2nd Peter 3:8
Peter may well have been reflecting on Psalm 90:4, which says, “For a thousand years in Your sight, Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night.” Here is a feeble argument by the mockers. Mankind’s experience in life is limited to our understanding of time. How old are you? How long have you been married? And the list of questions goes on and on: each revealing how we see life through time. Yet, “God lives in eternity and is not limited by time-space concepts” (Raymond Kelcy). What some might see as God being indifferent, is really Him being “longsuffering toward us.” God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Paul said it this way, that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1st Timothy 2:4).
The scoffers, then and now, have it all wrong. The fact that judgment has not yet taken place and the fulfillment of the promised heavenly home has yet to be ushered in, is not a sign of an indifferent God. In reality, it reveals a patient God who wants as many as possible to be saved. It is our task to share the message of hope to this lost and dying world. Why? Because one day He will return, and then it will be too late.
Dennis
