Anticipating the Return of Christ

RIVERSIDE INDONESIAN FELLOWSHIP
Go to content

Anticipating the Return of Christ

Riverside Indonesian Fellowship
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2017 · 10 December 2017

Peter has explained that divine revelation in this epistle is for the purpose of safeguarding the church from the continuous onslaught of false teachers. In chapter 1 he gave us important instruction about how to make sure that we’re in a right relationship with God. In chapter 2, he described the characteristics of false teachers. And then in chapter 3, he has been refuting their main error in whatever assembly.

These false teachers were attacking the Second Coming of Christ. So in 2 Peter 3:1-10 Peter has refuted those who deny the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. He has unmasked the false teachers in this epistle. And he has armed all Christians who read it and understand it for protection. Peter has affirmed the truth that Jesus will come again, and we should thank him. History has a goal and a purpose.

If Jesus is not coming, if there is no judgment, if God’s not going to intervene, that means that men are left with no hope and no future. When there is no future, hedonism prevails in your heart and you live anyway you want to live. On one of the tombs is written, “Once I had no existence, now I have none. I am not aware of it, it does not concern me.” And that indicates that for many there was only apathy.

Even so, those who do not know Christ should be grateful that He’s coming back to make all things right. But Peter is more concerned that believers have a proper understanding and a proper response to the return of Jesus Christ. And he says in verse 11, “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what kind of person should you be in conduct and godliness?”

What kind of person should you be if you know that Jesus is coming? If you are looking forward to that final heaven, that final glory, that eternal state, shouldn’t it have some very strong implications to live holy? “The day of God” in verse 12, refers to the eternal state. We don’t long for the day of the Lord used in verse 10; that is a term of judgment, destruction and damnation.

We long for what comes after the day of the Lord, namely that eternal state of righteous glory when, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians, everything resolves in God in His ultimate glory. That is explained in verse 10 which says, “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.”

Now verse 11 is not a question, it is an exclamation. When he says “what sort of people ought you to be,” implied in that is at what level of excellence ought you to live, when you know that you’re going to see beyond the day of the Lord the day of God and eternal glory. That is a challenge to Christians to conform their lives to the reality of eternity.

If Jesus is coming to make you an heir, if Jesus is coming to take you to be with Himself; if Jesus is coming to build for you a new heaven and a new earth; if Jesus is coming to deliver you from judgment and if Jesus is coming to take you into the kingdom of eternal righteousness, that ought to impact your life. In other words, if you have been redeemed and sanctified for that, then you ought to live in light of that.

In fact, in 2 Corinthians 5:9-10, Paul adds, “We have as our ambition whether at home or absent to be pleasing to Him, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” There will come a time when we are going to receive an eternal reward.

As Paul says in 1 Corinthians, at that point in time when the Lord judges the secrets of our hearts, every one of us will have praise from God and we will enter into our eternal reward. We as Christians are not a part of this world system. We are pilgrims. We belong to a heavenly place. We are waiting for a city whose builder is God, a city not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

What kind of people ought we to be, at what level of excellence ought we to live, he says. So, confidence in the glory of the coming day of God has some implications. Peter lists a number of them. First, there is a general statement in verse 11. “What sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?” And that’s the arena in which he is speaking.

Holy conduct refers to action; godliness refers to attitude. Holy conduct refers to the way I live my life; godliness refers to my attitude towards God in my life. Holy conduct refers to that which rules my behavior, and godliness refers to that which rules my heart. And so he is saying what kind of person ought you to be in heart and in behavior, in motive and in action, in attitude and in duty.

Both terms are in the plural, untranslatable in English. But in Greek, it takes the concept of holiness and godliness and spreads it over every area of our life. Tradition tells us Peter was crucified and because he was feeling unworthy to be crucified like his Lord, he pleaded to be crucified upside down. And Peter’s final words are this, what kind of person should we be in all areas.

What is the answer to that? The answer flows, starting in verse 12 down through verse 18. That takes us back to 1 Peter 1:13, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Live in the light of that grace that is bestowed upon you when Jesus is fully revealed in all His glory and sets up His eternal kingdom.

And then he says in verse 14-15, “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.” If we are headed for His kingdom, we should behave in a manner consistent with that identification. Hope makes us holy. Now, since someday we’re going to be with Him, how do we begin in this process of holiness?

By expectation. Notice verse 12-13, “Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning and the elements will melt with intense heat, but according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” Here is the concept of expectation. Be like Paul, “It’s nice to be here, but far better to depart and be there.”

What does that mean? That means that I’m going to be dealing with the issues in my life, so that when He comes I won’t be ashamed. 1 John 2:28 talks about not being ashamed when Jesus comes, “When He appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.” If my life is right, then I’m waiting for the presence of Jesus. ‘Parousia’ literally means the presence.

That phrase “day of God” refers to that eternal state when God is all in all. On account of the day of God, God has to destroy the present universe. To make way for the day of God there must be the day of the Lord. Verse 10, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which 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.” If there is to be a new universe in which righteousness dwells, then the Lord is going to have to destroy the old sin-cursed universe.

We know that the Lord destroyed this world once by water, drowning all of the people that were in it from waters underneath and waters above the earth, so in the future He will destroy it by fire. And the day of the Lord is not the result of any natural calamity. And it is not the result of some nations using nuclear weapons. It is the divine judgment by Almighty God through the power of Christ whom He has appointed as judge.

Now keep in mind that the day of the Lord comes in two parts. It comes when Lord Jesus returns in the Second Coming at the end of the time of Tribulation. And then He sets up His thousand-year kingdom. At the end of that thousand years, the second phase of the day of the Lord comes. God sees it as one day, because verse 8 says, “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.”

But the first time that Jesus comes, at the beginning of the thousand years, there are some previews of the end of the thousand years when fire destroys the universe. Look at Revelation 8:7, the trumpets are blown to pronounce the judgment at the end of the Tribulation time. When the first trumpet sounds, “there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.”

Verse 8-9, “And a second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.” That’s only a preview of the devastating fire of the earth that will consume everything at the end of the thousand years when the Lord sets up the new heaven and the new earth.

Another preview in Revelation 9:17-18, “And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths.”

And at the last preview at the end of the thousand years, Satan is released from prison. He comes out to deceive people who rejected Christ. Revelation 20:9-10 says, “They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

And that is the starting point of the final devastation of fire that consumes the whole universe. That’s how it is going to end. And then comes the holocaust when all of the universe is consumed and the elements melt with intense heat. Right down to the elements, the microscopic components that make up the building blocks of matter. First John 2:17 says, “And the world passes away.”

When God’s day arrives, man’s day is over. That’s why it’s called the day of God. His corruption of the universe and that of fallen angels is finally judged. And so in verse 13, Peter says, “But according to His promise we are looking,” not for the day of the Lord. We’re looking for the day of God, the day of eternity, “for the new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” We’re looking for a new universe.

Isaiah 60:19-20, describes that world, “The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; but the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory. 20 Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. 21 Also your people shall all be righteous.”

Look at Revelation 21:1-3, “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God will be with them and be their God.”

Verse 4-7 says, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” 6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.”

Look at Revelation 21:23-27, “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

Our response should be that of John in Revelation 22:8, “And I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things and when I heard and saw I fell down to worship.” His heart was right. He just worshipped the wrong person. He fell at the feet of an angel who said, “Get up, worship God.” Verse 20, “He who testifies to these things, says yes, I am coming quickly.” John’s response is “Amen,” Come, Lord Jesus.”

2 Peter 3:14-15a, “Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation.” This is what we look forward to, the Lord Jesus comes to Rapture His church out, then comes phase one of the day of the Lord, the judgment. Then we come back with Him to reign a thousand years in our glorified bodies.

At the end of that time He destroys the universe, but preserving the already made righteous and redeemed and leads us finally at the end of the thousand years into the day of God. That’s what we are made for and that is what we should be preparing for by trusting in Jesus. The best is yet to come as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, Amen? Let’s pray.



JOIN OUR MAILING LIST:

© 2017 Ferdy Gunawan
ADDRESS:

2401 Alcott St.
Denver, CO 80211
WEEKLY PROGRAMS

Service 5:00 - 6:30 PM
Children 5:30 - 6:30 PM
Fellowship 6:30 - 8:00 PM
Bible Study (Fridays) 7:00 PM
Phone (720) 338-2434
Email Address: Click here
Back to content