3. Joy has come (Jesus's Future Coming) - 2 Peter 3:18 (Sunday December 14, 2025)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
In the third week of advent we consider the adventus glorificamus, or Christ’s coming in glory. It is the chief and most important focus of Advent. It’s also the primary focus of Advent throughout church history. We join with the whole historic and global church in waiting for Christ to come and finally set all things right.
Illustration: "Imagine you're waiting at an airport for a loved one returning from years overseas. You don't just know they're coming—you're watching the arrivals board, straining to see through the crowd, heart pounding with anticipation. That's the difference between knowing about Christ's return and eagerly waiting for it. Satan wants us to be like bored passengers scrolling through our phones, having forgotten why we're even at the airport."
Satan would love people not to think about Christ’s return. Or to be so confused about it that they miss its importance. But, when believers forget about the second coming and begin focusing instead on the things of this world, they become absorbed in the temporal and grow apathetic and cold toward the eternal.
Peter wrote His second letter to stir up his hearers to remind them to anticipate with eagerness Christ’s return.
1 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder),
1. Be Sure
1. Be Sure
What will happen?
What will happen?
The Bible does not give a single chronological account of all that will happen when the Lord returns. Rather God gives us many clues throughout the Bible. There are about 300 references to Christ’s second coming in the New Testament alone, 23 of the 27 books in the NT explicitly mentioning the Lord’s return. And there are many more clues in the Old Testament.
The problem is in piecing those clues together to solve the puzzle.
Jigsaw Puzzle Illustration: "Imagine doing a 300-piece jigsaw puzzle of a magnificent landscape, but someone has mixed in pieces from several other puzzles and hidden the box lid. You can see clusters of blue sky, patches of mountains, sections of trees—but connecting them perfectly is challenging. Some puzzlers arrange it one way, others differently, yet they all agree on the main image: Christ will return in glory. Don't get so focused on debating where each piece fits that you miss the magnificent picture."
And sothere are differing views on the sequence of events at Christ’s second coming by godly Christians. They all love the Lord, but their final picture differs. But one thing is in common. The Lord is returning.
And there are others who create a picture that denies Christ’s return. Peter says that happens when untaught and unstable people twist what the Bible says.
The understanding of myself and what is in our church statement of faith comes from a methodical historical / literal approach to understanding the Bible.
I’ll just mention a few of the jigsaw pieces the Bible gives us about Christ’s return to illustrate how it is difficult to fit them together.
Jigsaw Pieces
Jigsaw Pieces
1. Rapture - end of the current church age
1. Rapture - end of the current church age
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
This event begins the countdown of the other events of the Lord’s return, which the Bible calls the Day of the Lord.
2. Day of the Lord
2. Day of the Lord
The day of the Lord is not a 24 hour day but a period of time that stretches over years from the rapture of the church to the creation of the new heavens and earth.
The day of the Lord begins with a 7 year period that the Bible calls a time of great trouble or Tribulation. Jesus said:
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
During this time, church age Christians are with the Lord in heaven where their life for Christ is evaluated:
13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
At the end of the tribulation period, God remembers His promise to the people of Israel and by His Spirit turns them to trust in Jesus as their Saviour
10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
At the end of this time are great cosmic disturbances:
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then Christ visibly returns in glory with the Saints .
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
After the defeat of armies of earth, Christ rules on earth for a period of 1000 years.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
During this 1000 year period, God imprisons Satan
2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
But after 1000 years Satan is released and there is one final battle between the Lord and Satan and human wickedness
7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.
Following Christ’s final victory, God destroys the current broken universe by fire.
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.
And then there is the judgement of all unbelievers
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
We have only touched on some of the obvious puzzle pieces. There are many other pieces to fit in.
Peter’s main focus
Peter’s main focus
But Peter does not remind us about these events. He tells us to look for the final event that happens at the very end. The new heavens and new earth.
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.
and
13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
We will see why shortly.
Be sure it will happen
Be sure it will happen
Peter first stirred up his hearers to remember Christ is coming. But he also wanted them to be sure it will happen. Some said Jesus is not going to return.
Arguments against
Arguments against
To try to convince people of their view point they first used ridicule:
3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
Mocking and scoffing can be very intimidating. But their underlying reason was not intellectual but moral.
They were living immoral lives. They did not want to believe in Christ’s coming because they did not want to be accountable for their actions to a Holy God.
They also used natural philosophy. The basis of their argument seems to be that God may have made all things, but the world will just carry on in the future as it has always done. The natural processes we see today are how it has been since creation and is how it always will be. We call that viewpoint today Uniformitarianism.
They seemed to have added - we know we are right because it is now almost 50 years since Christ said He would return - where is the promise of His coming?
Peter’s Answer
Peter’s Answer
God’s Word (3:2) - The fact that Jesus will return is in the God’s Word, the BIble. The prophets of OT and the apostles whom Christ had taught and sent out speak clearly of it.
God’s acts in History (3:5-7) - God has created a universe that follows set natural laws. If it was not so, the universe would be chaos. But God also at times intervenes supernaturally in His creation. Peter gives two examples: act of creation itself; that wasn’t just natural process despite what those who hold to the faith of evolution believe. And God intervened in His creation with the destruction of the world wide flood.
God’s Character (3:8-9)
Eternal - to God, 1000 years are just like a day to us. It is not a delay to God who is outside of time.
Merciful - not willing that any should perish, but all come to repentance. He is delaying because of His love towards people that they might have every opportunity to believe in Jesus and be saved.
"A child asks her father, 'Are we there yet?' every five minutes on a long journey. To her, an hour feels like forever. But the father knows exactly where they are, how long it will take, and why they left when they did—perhaps to avoid traffic, or arrive at the perfect time. God's timing isn't slow; it's strategic.
2. Be Eager
2. Be Eager
Despite the delay. Despite the difficulty to understand what happens at the Lord’s return, Peter says you can be sure it will happen. And so eagerly wait for Christ’s return.
Look for
Look for
Peter says the most important thing for a Christian and Christ’s coming is to “look for” it. He repeats that three times in 3:12-14. For example:
12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Looking for expresses an attitude of expectancy, an eternal perspective that watchfully waits with anticipation for the Lord’s arrival.
We are to eagerly look for Christ’s return:
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,
James said we should wait steadfastly without giving up
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Jesus Himself told us to be watchful and ready for that day
40 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
But what is it about Christ’s coming that we are to eagerly, patiently look for?
Not the tribulation time nor the judgment on the world. Those will be terrible times. Not the defeat of Satan. Not look for the great white throne judgement and the punishment of all who refuse Christ. Indeed, our hearts cry because of what awaits those who reject God’s offer of eternal life in Jesus. We do not look for the destruction of the current universe we live in and enjoy.
The thing we look for is not the marriage supper of the lamb, nor reigning with Christ in the 1000 year kingdom, though I’m sure they will be joyful times.
Peter writes:
13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
We are looking not for the events of the day of the Lord, but for what Peter calls the Day of God. In the day of the God, God creates the new heavens and the new earth, replacing the old.
And what is it about this new heaven and earth that we eagerly anticipate? It is a place where there is no sin but rather where righteousness dwells. A place where no death nor sorrow nor crying nor pain.
But the main thing about this new heaven and earth and the thing we are to look for is that we will see and be with God for ever.
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 Himself will be with them and be their God.
We look forward to seeing our wonderful God face to face and being with Him for eternity.
4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.
WHen a bride is eagerly waiting for the wedding, she is looking forward most of all to finally being united with her loved one permanently. Yes, there's a ceremony to get through, details to manage—but her focus is on the marriage relationship after the wedding day. So we look beyond the tribulation, beyond the judgments, to the moment we see Jesus face to face."
BE TRANSFORMED
BE TRANSFORMED
To stir up his readers, Peter has reminded them to be sure Christ is returning. To eagerly look for that time when we will see God’s face in the new creation and be with Him for eternity.
And he closes by reminding them that this eternal perspective should transform the way we live as Christians.
HOLY
It should cause us to live holy lives close with the Lord Jesus today.
11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
The knowledge that our eternal citizenship is in heaven where righteousness dwells is a powerful incentive to forsake the sin. And to draw close to God.
PEACE
14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
Knowing Christ our Saviour will return and put all things right gives us peace that banishes both earthly worries and cosmic fears. No matter how terrible things become as human history moves towards the day of the Lord, believers who eagerly wait for the Lord’s return have peace knowing the Lord has planned marvellous things for those that love Him
9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
SPIRITUALLY RESPONSIBLE
15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
As they eagerly waited for the Lord’s return, Peter wanted them to remember the reason God’s judgment had not yet come. This time we consider a delay is the time to proclaim the good news of Christ to those who do not know Him. God’s delay is Him giving us an opportunity to tell others how to be saved.
GROW SPIRITUALLY
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.
Part of growing requires us to study and understand the scriptures. Peter had written earlier
2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
And part of that is to be serious about prayer. Peter had also written
7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
SUMMARY
SUMMARY
Peter is reminding us as Christians in this world to be sure Christ is returning and to eagerly look forward with an eternal persective that one day we will be with God in the new heaven and earth. He is reminding us that this perspective should transform our daily living, and bring glory to Jesus.
Jude writes that our hope is exceeding joy in the presence of God
24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.
Illustration: "In C.S. Lewis's The Last Battle, when the children finally see Aslan's country—the real Narnia—they realize everything they'd known before was just 'the Shadowlands.' One character exclaims, 'I have come home at last! This is my real country...the reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this.'
This world, with all its beauty and moments of joy, is just a shadow of what's coming. And the reason we sometimes experience profound beauty, deep love, or transcendent joy here is because they're echoes of our true home—previews of exceeding joy in God's presence.
Are you sure He's coming?
Are you eagerly looking for that day?
Is that hope transforming how you live today?
