2 Peter 3:1-18
The Day of the LORD
1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Acts 17:24-31
God Appointed Jesus to Judge the World
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
I have read where some people think that God of the Old Testament and that God of the New Testament are quite different...But I would add the word patient and that God has always been patient with mankind, since He first created Adam and Eve...For instance, God gave a covenant to Abraham and that took years to work out...God promised Abraham and Sarah a child and that took several years to come to fruition...God had Moses take His people across the desert from Egypt and into the Promised Land...A Messiah was predicted first over a thousand years before He came and dwelt on earth, and He came...Then Jesus would spend thirty mostly unheralded years in obscurity until He started His ministry...So we can see that God is very patient...
If God were in a hurry, He could have punished man for our sins, since we left the Garden of Eden...I would say that He has been very patient with us...So God of the Old Testament and God of the New Testament has been patient with mankind...And St. Peter writes about this...God wants all of His children to be saved from their sins, and in His being patient we are give the time to be saved...St. Peter tells us to not forget this one thing: With the LORD a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day...The LORD is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness...Instead He is patient with all of us, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance and be saved...
So as St. Peter reminds us, God has been patient with us...We need to realize that when He is ready He will send His Son to us to judge the earth, and He wants us to be ready...He wants all His children to be saved...God has appointed Jesus a Second Time to return to earth...God gives everyone life and breath and everything else we have...From Adam, God made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and God marked out our appointed times in history when we would be born, and not only that He appointed where we would live...God did this so that mankind would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though God is not far from any one of us....For in God we live and move and have our being...As some of the Greek poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’...So we are God's children...And these things so that He is patient with all of us...
Since we are God’s children, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill...We should also not think that He continually gets in a hurry...In the past God overlooked much of our ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent...He wants us to be saved...For God has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed...God appointed the Messiah, who died on the cross...He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Jesus from the dead...God remains patient...And the day the LORD returns will come like a thief in the night, for we will not know when He will come...The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare...Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?...You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming...That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat...But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells...Goodness will rule the earth at that day...So then since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with God and His Son...Bear in mind that our LORD’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother St. Paul also wrote with his wisdom that God gave him...St. Paul wrote his epistles, speaking in them of these matters...St. Paul's letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction...But St. Paul continually writes that Jesus is our Messiah...He was the One to come...Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position...But grow in the grace and knowledge of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ... To Him be glory both now and forever!...Amen...