Paul spoke of the “last days” in his 2nd epistle to Timothy, characterizing them as “perilous times.” (2 Tim.3:1) John also referenced what he called “the last time,” noting that when he wrote I John 2:18 it was already the last time, a time when many antichrists were already on the scene, proof in the aged apostle’s mind that the last time was then already upon the world.
So, a generation after Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, Peter wrote his 2nd epistle to the saints who had been scattered all over the Roman world stating that he wanted to “stir up your pure minds,” hoping to get them to remember what the holy prophets and later the apostles of the Lord and Savior had warned against concerning the apostacy of the last days.
The message is as pertinent now as it was then. These are the last days. The fact that a couple of millennia have come and gone since Peter wrote his exhortation in no way diminishes the urgency of Christ’s followers to hear and heed the warning. The last days are as intense today as when early Christians were thrown to the lions in Rome’s Coliseum. As I write, Israel and Iran are at war; Russia is three years into its invasion of Ukraine. America is plagued by millions of illegal immigrants who flooded across our borders during the recent four years that our borders were virtually “open.” There is unrest world-wide. If the days in which Paul, Peter and John wrote were “the last days,” these days are surely an intensification of what John labeled as “the last time.” Therefore, it behooves us to have our “pure minds” stirred up. (2 Pet. 3:1) We do so by
- Rehearsing Patience. Patience in the face of denial by scoffers who were denying the truth that Jesus would come again (3:3), claiming that His delay ought to give cause for doubt in “the promise of His coming.” Paul earlier had conveyed his concern that the believers in Thessalonica had been “shaken” in mind and “troubled” in spirit about the truth of Christ’s promise that “I will come again to receive you unto myself.” (2 Thess. 2:2). “Where is the promise of His coming?” the scoffers taunted. All things remain as they ever have been, the first-century uniformitarians claimed. No such thing as the “Second Coming” need be expected, they claimed.
- Resting on the Promise, v 9. God is faithful, “not slack concerning His promise.” He is longsuffering, and He is not willing that any should perish; thus, the apparent “delay” of His promised return explained Peter. But we can rest assured that He will keep His Word: “I will come again….”
- Realize the perdition, v. 11. Peter reminds us that “all these things shall be dissolved….” That is, all that is material and temporal, along with the very heavens and earth, are being kept in store against the day of “judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” (v.7) God’s judgment, coming at a time when only He knows, will be certain, sudden and severe. It will come as a thief in the night and when it does, “all these things shall be dissolved.” “Peace and safety” will be the watchword of the world, but be sure that when Christ returns there will be “sudden destruction.” (I Thess.5:3)
- Thus, we must recognize practical ramifications, v.11, including keeping a proper perspective on the present age/hour; living with proper priorities, including lives ordered by “holy conversation,” and “godliness.” (v.11)
- Rejoice in the prospect, vss. 12,13—the prospect of the coming day of the Lord (v.12), ushering ultimately in a “new heaven and a new earth.” All the while, we thank God that His longsuffering is salvation (v.15); AND, knowing these things beforehand, we remain aware (lest we should be led away by the error of the wicked); determined to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.” (vss. 16-18)
In his epistle to the Thessalonian church, Paul stated that of the times and seasons, there was really no need for him to write unto their church any further words of explanation. The “Day of the Lord,” spoken of by Old Testament prophets scores of times, would be a day of awful darkness and destruction, the likes of which the world had not yet seen, nor has it seen such yet, even at this hour. The Man of Sin would first be revealed, the rapture having occurred with the church, indwelt individually by the Holy Spirit, removed from this earth. (2 Thess. 2) “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief.” (I Th.5:4) Paul exhorts, “Therefore, let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober.” (I Th. 5:6)
These are the last days (of the church age). Christ will soon come as He promised. When He does, He will rapture (catch up) His Bride, the Church, to be with Himself. The Man of Sin, the Antichrist, will be revealed and a seven-year period of awful darkness, the last half of which Jesus called “The Great Tribulation,” will come world-wide, culminating in the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ to the earth to establish His kingdom over which He will rule and reign from Jerusalem for 1,000 years. At the end of that millennial reign, Satan will be loosed from the bottomless pit where he will have been exiled from the time the thousand years began, to deceive the world one more time in marshalling an army to oppose the ruling Messiah, Jesus. Satan and his wicked worldlings will be defeated and that old Serpent, the Devil, will be cast into the Lake of Fire, joining there the False Prophet and the Beast (Antichrist), where he and they will spent eternity.
What is the bottom line? For the saved, God’s people: “Let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.” (I Th.5:8) For the unsaved: “…behold, now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor.6:2)
“Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” (2 Pet.3:14)
YOU and GOD 