I normally write about how the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New Testament, but something amazing happened today. Most Christians are familiar with Peter’s words from 2 Peter 3:4-11, but today I found out that people actually, and unironically, make the argument that Peter said they would make against the return of Christ. Here is the prophecy, followed by its fulfillment:
They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
2 Peter 3:4
Given that zero in a billion people have been right so far, you think the Christian would reflect on that a bit and start asking questions. Questions like “since the odds for Jesus coming in my lifetime diminish with each passing year, should I start living like he won’t come and try and be a better person?” Or maybe “Why do I trust people that have been so wrong so many times?” Or something like “Should we care for our environment, because we might be here for a while longer?” Or possibly even “Is this religion wrong?”
Yes, your religion is wrong. And over a billion dead people can attest to that.
The Spartan Atheist, A Billion Dead People
Peter responds to this argument in four ways. Hover over the Bible citations in each point to read his words.
1. Prophets are more trustworthy than scoffers (2 Peter 3:1–3).
The prophets “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21), and Peter is an eyewitness that what they promised has begun to be fulfilled (2 Peter 1:16–19).
Scoffers, on the other hand, are carried along by their sinful desires, defensively justifying their rebellion against God. They are not afraid to blaspheme what they don’t understand (2 Peter 2:12). They say exactly what the Bible says scoffers will say, then they scoff at the Bible:
“And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed.”
2. We are like the generations before the flood (2 Peter 3:5–7).
God’s word is powerful enough to create the world, and to destroy it. 1656 years passed between Adam’s sin and the cataclysmic judgment of the flood. Doubtless, scoffers mocked the idea that they would be punished for their sin. But 120 years before the flood, the word of God made the judgment sure (Genesis 6:3–8). Peter says that in the same way, Jesus will surely return to judge the world, because God has spoken.
3. We are experiencing God’s incredible patience (2 Peter 3:8–9).
The reason that the coming of Jesus might be delayed for thousands of years is the unfathomable patience of God. God has endured mockery about this for almost 2000 years, and to Him it felt like a couple of days.
The reason that God is willing to tolerate so much blasphemy for so long is that He is extending mecy to a world that hates him. He is showing patience toward a specific group of people, “you” (2 Peter 3:9). In the previous verse, Peter calls this group “beloved” (2 Peter 3:8). The beloved group he is addressing is the same group he addressed in his previous letter (2 Peter 3:1), the elect exiles (1 Peter 1:1). This is important to notice because if God is not willing for any human to perish, then delaying Jesus’ coming is counter-productive, as thousands of people perish every day. What Peter means is that God is not willing for any of His elect to perish; they must all come to repentance before Jesus returns. This will happen by the word of God that creates and destroys, kills and makes alive.
So the word of God will surely bring judgment, but this is delayed as the word of God brings salvation to the ends of the earth. Proud and rebellious scoffers who give their allegiance to their Creator are being welcomed into His kingdom as sons.
4. The promise of judgment inspires righteousness (2 Peter 3:10–13).
According to The Spartan Atheist, disbelieving in Jesus’ return leads to increased morality. I’m not sure what the logic behind that is, but Peter has good reasons to see it the opposite way.
First, the threat that our evil works will be exposed and judged is a warning against sin. The antidote to hypocrisy is a healthy fear of the God who sees what is done in secret.
Second, the kingdom that we look forward to is where righteousness dwells. As we look forward to this kingdom, we desire for God’s will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. We do not destroy the earth because God is going to destroy it eventually; we take care of it as God told us to in the beginning, and as we will continue to do for eternity in the new Earth.
Hapax Blogomena 