Jesus Versus the Mayans (10 Biblical Reasons Why the World will not End on December 21, 2012)

Church history is replete with examples of failed predictions of the return of Christ and the end of the world, from Montanus of Phrygia (second century) to William Miller in the nineteenth century to the failed prediction of Judgment Day on October 21, 2011 by radio preacher Harold Camping (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Camping).  So far the failure rate for popular doomsayers has been and remains 100%.  This track record should cause anyone to hesitate before swallowing the latest prediction of an imminent end.

The newest, and perhaps so far most “successful” prediction of the End in terms of popularity, is the claim based on the Mayan calendar that the present age will come to an end on December 21, 2012.  Unlike most past apocalyptic movements this one originated outside Christianity and is more secular than religious in nature.  It is widespread in pop culture having spawned significant numbers of television programs, “documentaries,” Hollywood movies and thousands of websites propagating a host of different and often conflicting theories about how events will play out on December 21.

“Experts” have materialized seemingly from the woodwork to warn people of the impending global calamity, many of whom attempt to integrate the Mayan doomsday predictions with similar “prophecies” gleaned from other ancient cultures and literary sources, including the Hopi Indians, the Sumerians of Mesopotamia and the Great Pyramid of Giza, all of which it is claimed warn of catastrophic events to occur in 2012. It seems the vastly disparate civilizations of the ancient world were all singing out of the same apocalyptic hymnbook.

But contrary to today’s Mayan “experts,” the Bible tells a very different story and provides several reasons why the “End” will not come on December 21 of this year, including:

1) In contrast to the appeal of the precision of the Mayan calendar based on astronomical observation skills, Jesus warned: “no one knows the day or hour, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son” (Mark 13:32). This statement was made in response to a question from his disciples:  “what will be sign of your coming and the end of the age?”  Not even God’s own Son possesses this information. From a biblical perspective the very idea that a pagan, polytheistic and human-sacrificing society knew what Jesus did not know is absurd.

2) Jesus was quite explicit:  only God knows the precise date and timing of the End.  No one knows the day, the hour, the “times or the seasons,” except for “the Father alone” (Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32, Acts 1:7).

3) Disciples of Jesus need to “watch and pray” at all times precisely because “they do not know when the season is” (Mark 13:33).

4) Jesus will arrive suddenly at “an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). This declaration is at odds with the widespread apocalyptic expectations about December 21, 2012. Millions expect something to occur on December 21, yet Jesus said the end is to come when people least expect it.

5) The coming of Jesus will arrive “like a thief in the night.”  That is, the date when a “thief” will strike cannot be known or accurately predicted.  Thieves do not preannounce targets and timetables therefore one must always be prepared. This warning is repeated numerous times in the New Testament (Matthew 24:43, Luke 12:39-40, 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 16:15).

6) Proponents of the Mayan prophecy often point to increasing natural and manmade catastrophes, potential and actual, as evidence that something apocalyptic is just around the corner; wars, famines, earthquakes, tsunamis and so on. Many are therefore preparing by storing food, building underground shelters, stockpiling weapons, etc. But Jesus compared the days prior to his coming to the “days of Noah” when people routinely went about their everyday business as if nothing untoward would happen, “eating, drinking, marrying, giving in marriage, buying, selling, planting, building,” until the Flood arrived suddenly “and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-29). Similarly, the Apostle Paul warned that “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. When they are saying, ‘Peace and security,’ then comes unexpected destruction…and they will certainly not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3).

7) Similarly and just like many Christian prophecy “experts,” proponents of the Mayan prophecy point to increases in the frequency and intensity of wars, famines and earthquakes as evidence of the rapidly approaching doomsday. In contrast, Jesus warned of coming “deceivers” who would point to “wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes” as evidence of his soon arrival. However, disciples of Jesus are not to be “alarmed” at reports of this kind. Though such events “must occur,” they are characteristic of every period of human and natural history but “the end is not yet.” Contrary to much popular preaching, such catastrophes are NOT signs of the imminent “end” and at most amount to a “beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:5-8). The New Testament also warns of coming deceivers that will propagate false expectations about the “end” (e.g., Matthew 24:23-26, 2 Peter 2:1-3, 1 Timothy 4:1).

8) The “end” cannot come until the global mission of Gospel proclamation is completed:  “this Gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the inhabited earth for a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). This involves more than simply acquainting the world with the name ‘Jesus,’ distributing tracts or building churches in every country.  Christ’s statement uses the Greek demonstrative pronoun or “this” and describes “this” Gospel as the message “about the kingdom of God.” In other words, not just any but the same Gospel announced by Jesus must be proclaimed in all nations before the “end” can come, and arguably this task if far from complete.

9) The Apostle Paul gave very few specific prophecies or “signs” that will signal the soon return of Jesus, but he did specify two. First, there will be a final “apostasy,” a falling of many away from the true faith (2 Thessalonians 2:3), and—

10) Second, an individual Paul labels “the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction,” must first be revealed (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).  The Apostle describes this individual’s use of religious deception to deceive many. This man will “oppose and exalt himself over every so-called god.” Already the “mystery of lawlessness” is at work in the world preparing the way for this malevolent individual until the proper time for his arrival on the world scene (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 1 John 4:1-3). This man will work “all manner of mighty work and signs and false wonders, and with all manner of deceit of unrighteousness in them who are destroying themselves, because they did not welcome the love of the truth that they might be saved.”

In none of the preceding is it argued that the coming of Jesus is unimportant.  His return is vital to the Christian faith and its promise firm.  Christians can rest assured Jesus will come, the dead will be raised, the ungodly judged and all accounts settled.  The question is not, “when” is he coming, but can we even discern and know this?

The appeal of prognosticators who claim to know when future pivotal events will occur and how they will play out is perfectly understandable.  Human curiosity about such things is only natural, as is the desire of men and women living in a tumultuous world for certainty about the future.

We should remember just twelve years ago many were caught up in similar fears about the so-called ‘Y2K’ computer virus that was expected to bring down the world’s computer systems on January 2, 2000, causing worldwide economic and social upheaval. This was despite widely reported public statements from computer industry experts that such a catastrophic scenario would not occur.  The details vary in each case but every few years this pattern repeats itself.

Christians who take the Bible seriously need to come to grips with the clear teachings of Jesus.  God alone knows the timing of the end; this knowledge is beyond human competence.  Accept this fact and deal with it, otherwise prepare to be fooled by the next prophetic charlatan. If not even the “angels of heaven” or the Son of Man possess this knowledge, it is foolish if not presumptuous to think mortal men and women can ascertain it.

What matters is not knowing the timing of that day, but rather that one lives faithfully in the here and now.  How one fares on that day is dependent on how one responds to Jesus now, not on accurate knowledge about future events and chronologies.  The Christian who is found busy about the Master’s business will stand in good stead on that day regardless of his or her lack of knowledge about its timing.

Luke 12:37, “Blessed are those servants whom the Master shall find on the alert when he comes.”

The Coming of Jesus in 1 Corinthians

The coming of Jesus is not a major topic in 1 Corinthians and Paul does not take it up in any real detail.  He mentions it only in passing or as an adjunct to an argument on another topic. However, key passages touch on the subject and provide the reader with basic information about Christ’s future return, two in particular:  1 Corinthians 1:7-8 and 1 Corinthians 15:20-28.

The paragraph in 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 is a thanksgiving section, something Paul traditionally includes at the start of his epistles and routinely customizes to introduce key topics of the letter.  Here he thanks God for His grace to the Corinthians by enriching them in all “discourse,” “knowledge” and “gifts.”  In chapters 1-4, 8, and 12-14 Paul will deal with the proper and improper uses of wisdom, knowledge, discourse and spiritual gifts.

The future coming of Christ is not the real subject of this passage.  Paul inserts a brief reference to the “revelation” of Jesus to give the Corinthians’ a proper perspective on the value and use of wisdom and spiritual gifts in light of Christ’s impending return. Rather than overvalue present spiritual gifts, they need to remember they still await the much fuller and final glories to be dispensed when Jesus arrives. Thus they are or should be “ardently awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ; who will also confirm you until the end, unimpeachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Believers await the revelation of Jesus.  “Revelation” translates the same noun found in Revelation 1:1 (“revelation of Jesus Christ”) or apokalupsis (αποκαλυψις), a term that means a “revelation, disclosure, unveiling.”  Paul previously used this same noun to refer to the coming of Jesus in his second letter to the Thessalonians, “and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10).

The Greek clause rendered “revelation of Jesus Christ” in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 is virtually identical to that in 1 Corinthians 1:7, except “revelation “ is in the accusative noun case in 1 Corinthians 1:7 (“awaiting the revelation”) but in the dative in 2 Thessalonians 1:7 (“at or in the revelation”).

The passage from 2 Thessalonians lists several things to occur on that day. Powerful angels that render “vengeance” on the unrepentant will accompany Christ. The unredeemed will suffer “everlasting destruction.” Jesus will be glorified in his saints.  In short, that day will mean glory and deliverance for some, condemnation and punishment for others.  One implication is that Christians will be alive on the earth on the day Jesus arrives.

Several other New Testament authors use the term “revelation” or its related verb “revealed” to refer to the future return of Jesus and events that accompany it.  For example:

• [Luke 17:30] – “After the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed.”
• [1 Peter 1:13] – “Therefore gird up your minds, be sober, set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
• [1 Peter 4:13] – “But rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”

Paul next encourages the Corinthians, for God will “confirm” them “until the end.” “End” means the end of the existing age, its consummation that takes place when the Son of Man comes (Matthew 24:3-6, 24:14, 1 Corinthians 15:24, 1 Peter 4:7). “Until” the end translates the conjunction heōs (εως), which means “until, as far as, as long as, up to the time of.” In other words, God will continue to confirm the Corinthians right up to the very moment of the end.  Again, an unstated implication is that Christians will be alive on the earth at that time.

God will confirm believers “unimpeachable” on that day.  This translates a legal term signifying one against whom legal charges can no longer be leveled (anegklétos – αναγκλητος); hence “unimpeachable, guiltless, irreproachable, blameless.”  On that day no one will be able to bring charges against Christians in God’s court. This will not be due to any righteousness or achieved holiness on their part, but because God “confirmed” them.

The “day of our Lord Jesus Christ” is the same as the “day of the Lord” in the Old Testament, the day on which God delivers his children, judges His enemies and brings the existing age to its conclusion (Amos 5:18-20, Joel 2:31, Philippians 1:6, 2:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Peter 3:10). By adding “Jesus Christ” to this traditional phrase Paul centers this hope on Jesus.

Paul describes believers as “ardently awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  An unstated inference is that the church is waiting for the arrival of Jesus from heaven rather than their departure to heaven from the earth.

1 Corinthians 4:5 briefly states to “not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God.” In this section Paul deals with certain inappropriate attitudes.  Some at Corinth rejected Paul’s teachings and authority.  He begins by employing the image of household servants or stewards (verses 1-5). As a “steward” Paul has been entrusted with the “mysteries” of God.  Paul is a servant of Christ and therefore is accountable only to the Master of the household.  The opinions of the Corinthians are of little consequence. Paul does not even examine himself. The opinion that does matter is that of Christ. His evaluation will be made evident when he returns. Christians are not to judge anyone before the proper time, which is “when the Lord comes.” At that time Jesus will “bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.”

A few verses previously Paul wrote of a coming day of evaluation when each Christian’s work is to be examined to see whether it is built on a proper foundation. “Each man’s work will be made manifest for the day will make it plain, because is it to be revealed by fire…If anyone’s work shall abide which he built, shall he receive a reward. If anyone’s work shall be burnt up, he shall suffer loss but shall himself, be saved, though thus as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:13-15).  In 1 Corinthians 4:5 Paul makes it clear that this evaluation and judgment of Christians will take place when Jesus comes. This will be a time of judgment and rewards (or lack thereof).

In 1 Corinthians 5:4-5 Paul again mentions “the day of the Lord.” Paul now turns to a shameful development at Corinth. So much so, that if it is not swiftly dealt with it will bring the church into disrepute. A male member of the congregation is having sexual relations with his stepmother. While fornication is quite common in the surrounding pagan society, to have sexual relations with one’s stepmother was beyond the pale even for the most sexually promiscuous pagans (“and such fornication as this which is not found among the Gentiles”). Rather than boast of their spiritually the Corinthians need to “mourn” that such a one remains in their midst.

Paul exhorts the church to purge this man from their midst.  They are to “deliver such a one to Satan,” that is, to expel him from their congregation.  This does not mean to literally hand him over to Satan, but rather to exclude him from worship and other communal activities, to treat the offender once again as a pagan.  Apart from the church the man will live in the world where Satan and his cohorts hold sway; he will be out from under the protection of Christ from the “powers and principalities of this age.”

The purpose of this act of expulsion is so that his “spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” This means the “destruction of the flesh” is part of the remedial process and therefore does NOT refer to physical death.  To undergo death while still in a state of sin and excluded from the body of Christ would not result in salvation on the day of the Lord. Moreover, “destruction of the flesh” is not a phrase Paul uses elsewhere to refer to physical death.  More likely Paul means the destruction of what is carnal in the man as satanic forces buffet him, hopefully resulting in his repentance before that day.

This does not mean this man or anyone else must remain alive until the day of the Lord in order to be saved.  What it does indicate is that final salvation is only realized on the day of the Lord, an idea found elsewhere in the New Testament. In verse 5 the “day of the Lord” Paul has in view is the same day when Jesus “comes” bringing this age to its inevitable “end” (1 Corinthians 1:7-8).

In 1 Corinthians 11:26 Paul briefly mentions the coming of Jesus in his discussion of the Lord’s Supper (“for as often as ye may be eating this loaf and drinking the cup, the death of the Lord do ye announce until he comes”). “Comes” translates the common Greek verb erchomai (ερχομα), which has a basic meaning to “come.” This common verb is used several times in the New Testament for the future coming of Jesus, including a few chapters earlier at 1 Corinthians 4:5 (also Matthew 24:30, John 14:3, Acts 1:11, 1 Thessalonians 2:10, Rev. 1:1).

Paul brings together in the communion celebration not only the commemoration of Christ’s death but also his future return. By eating the bread and drinking the cup the church proclaims the death of Jesus “until he comes.” “Christ’s death is not itself the End, but the beginning of the End.  Thus at this meal the proclamation is of ‘the Lord’s death until he comes.’  By these final words Paul is reminding the Corinthians of their essentially eschatological existence…They have not yet arrived (4:8); at this meal they are to be reminded that there is yet a future for themselves, as well as for all the people of God.”[i]

In chapter 15 Paul responds to certain church members who denied there is to be a future bodily resurrection. Thus in verse 12 Paul asks, “now if Christ is proclaimed that he has been raised from among the dead, how say some of you there is no resurrection of the dead?” The central subject throughout Chapter 15 is bodily resurrection. In verses 12-19 Paul argues for the future Resurrection on the basis of Christ’s past resurrection from the dead.  If there is no future resurrection then “not even Christ has been raised, and if Christ has not been raised void is our proclamation, void also our faith.” The future resurrection of believers is based on the past raising of Jesus.

In verses 20-28 Paul describes how all “will be made alive, but each in his own rank.” In his resurrection Jesus became a “firstfruit” of the general and final resurrection.  Christ rose first, the rest are to rise “at his coming.” Following his arrival comes “the end, whenever he delivers up the kingdom to his God and Father, whenever he shall bring to nothing all rule and all authority and power.” Paul is laying out the general order of the Resurrection.  It began with Jesus in the past and awaits completion in the future at his “coming” or parousia (παρουσια – verse 23).  Paul frequently uses this Greek noun to refer to the future “coming” of Jesus (cp. 1 Thessalonians 1: 2:19, 3:13, 4:15, 5:23, 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 2:8). The term means “arrival, coming, presence.”

Paul thus provides a clear time key for when the Resurrection takes place; first by correlating it with the “coming” or parousia of Jesus, second by specifying that this “coming” and the Resurrection mean nothing less than “the end” of the age and the cessation of death (verse 24). Then “God will be in all.”  This “end” occurs only after Jesus “delivers up the kingdom to his God and Father, whenever he brings to nothing all rule and all authority and power,” and the “last enemy” to be destroyed will be Death (verses 25-26).

Paul’s purpose is not to describe Christ’s coming in detail but to continue his argument for bodily resurrection. Certain details about the future coming of Jesus are employed to help further this argument.  Because Christ was raised and is a “firstfruit” of those now “asleep,” it logically follows that those asleep will participate in the same bodily resurrection. This is to occur at Christ’s “coming,” which takes place at the end of the age after Jesus has subjugated all God’s enemies including death. Paul will return to the cessation of death at Christ’s coming in verses 51-58 (“we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, during the last trumpet; for it shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed”).

The arrival of the “end,” the cessation of death, the overthrow of all God’s enemies and the consummation of His kingdom at Christ’s “arrival” or parousia leave no room for any intervening period after Christ’s “coming” in which Satan’s forces are still active and sin and death continue.  The description in verses 20-28 does not allow for a “Tribulation” period following the arrival of Jesus from heaven.

● Summary Points ●

The coming of Jesus is not a major topic in 1 Corinthians and Paul does not take it up in any detail.  He brings it up as part of his larger arguments. But certain points and conclusions can be reached concerning Paul’s conception of the future return of Jesus, including:

1. Paul consistently speaks of only one future coming of Jesus, not two or more.
2. Paul links the coming of Jesus to the “day of our Lord Jesus Christ” or the “day of the Lord.
3. The coming of Christ means the time of examination for believers before the “judgment seat” of Christ and their consequent rewards.
4. Paul uses key terms for the return of Jesus interchangeably including “coming” (erchomai), “revelation” (apokalupsis) and “arrival” (parousia).
5. The coming of Jesus occurs after he has subjugated all God’s enemies.
6. The coming of Jesus occurs at the end of the age.
7. The coming of Jesus results in the bodily resurrection of the dead.
8. The coming of Jesus means the cessation of death.
9. In the Corinthians letters Paul never mentions or hints at a future removal of Christians from the earth or their transportation to a realm outside of the Creation. Jesus “comes” to the earth where dead and living Christians are physically transformed.
10. The description of the order of final events in 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 leaves no room for any intervening tribulation period following Christ’s return.

ENDNOTES:

[i] Gordon Fee, First Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids:  Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1987), p. 557.

Resurrection or Rapture? (1 Corinthians Chapter 15)

In biblical usage resurrection most often refers to the bodily resurrection of an individual from the dead, whether to the past bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ or the future resurrection of Christian believers.  The term ‘rapture’ never occurs in scripture.  In popular parlance the latter refers to the expected translation and removal of Christians off the earth to a location outside the Creation.

In popular preaching 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 is commonly cited as a description of the Rapture, especially Paul’s description how “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, during the last trumpet,” believers will be changed and “this corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility.” The “mystery” that Paul reveals, it is argued, is the necessity for change to a different kind of body to participate in the Rapture and live in heaven.

For example, “our present body of flesh and blood, which must be sustained by the elements of the earth, which are perishable, must be changed to another form. This new form has material being, but it is of a different kind that is suited for the spiritual, imperishable, eternal atmosphere of heaven.”[i] In his book on the Rapture author Tim LaHaye describes 1 Corinthians 15:23 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 as “two of the primary passages on the Rapture.”[ii] Similarly, one of the twentieth century’s leading proponents of a pre-tribulation Rapture, John Walvoord of Dallas Theological Seminary, argued that the “mystery” revealed in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is “the added revelation of the fact of translation without dying in connection with the coming of the Lord.”[iii]

The use of 1 Corinthians 15 as a Rapture proof text stems from a failure to heed context and the tendency to read popular ideas into a text.  The term “rapture” is not found in this chapter and neither is the notion of Christian removal from the earth. Moreover, from start to finish the subject of chapter 15 is the future bodily resurrection of believers, which is to occur at the “coming” or parousia (παρουσια) of Jesus.

What prompted Paul to write chapter 15 was not to reveal new truths about the Rapture but to respond to certain church members who were denying there would be a bodily resurrection in the future. Thus in verse 12 Paul wrote, “now if Christ is proclaimed that he has been raised from among the dead, how say some of you there is no resurrection of the dead?” The Rapture was not the subject under discussion and Paul never raised it.  By itself this does not mean the Rapture is not taught elsewhere in the New Testament, only that it is not the subject of 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 Paul argues for the future Resurrection on the basis of Christ’s past resurrection.  If there is no future resurrection, then “not even Christ has been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, void is our proclamation, void also our faith…for if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, to no purpose is our faith, yet are we in our sins.” The future resurrection of believers is based on the past resurrection of Jesus; the two events are inextricably linked.

In verses 20-28 Paul lays out the general order of the Resurrection.  It began with Jesus and still awaits completion in the future. Jesus has been raised and therefore is a “a firstfruit of those who have fallen asleep.”  Since death came to be “through a man,” Adam, so “through a man,” Christ, comes “the raising of the dead.”  Just as “in the Adam all die,” likewise “in Christ shall all be made alive.” In his resurrection Jesus became “the firstfruit,” his followers are waiting to be raised “at his coming” or parousia (verse 23).

The Apostle provides a clear time key for when the Resurrection is to take place; first by correlating it with the “coming” of Jesus, second by specifying that this “coming” and the Resurrection mean nothing less than “the end” of the age (verse 24), after which “God will be in all.”  This “end” occurs only after Jesus “delivers up the kingdom to his God and Father, whenever he brings to nothing all rule and all authority and power,” and the “last enemy” to be destroyed will be Death (verses 25-26). This passage is problematic to the pre-tribulation Rapture view. It leaves no room for the Tribulation, the Antichrist, the battle of Armageddon and so on, subsequent to the “coming” or parousia of Jesus.

In verses 29-34 Paul makes several rhetorical points to demonstrate the folly of denying the Resurrection in light of Christian behavior and beliefs.  If there were no future resurrection of the dead, why were the Corinthians being “baptized in behalf of the dead,” what would be the point?  Why endure suffering on behalf of the faith if there is no hope of future resurrection?  What would be the profit in martyrdom if dead Christians will not be raised? If there is no resurrection why not just “eat and drink, for tomorrow we die?”

In verses 35-50 Paul anticipates an objection by those who were denying the Resurrection.  They envisioned resurrection to mean the resuscitation of dead corpses.  Paul counters by explaining that though this will be bodily resurrection, it will entail bodies of a different kind; bodies geared to life characterized by the Spirit and heavenly glory; bodies no longer subject to decay and death. Moreover, he argues for the certainty of this resurrection body on the basis of Christ’s glorified body. Through it all it is assumed this future existence will be a bodily not a disembodied reality. By inference the future Resurrection means nothing less than New Creation.

In verses 50-58 Paul brings his arguments to a conclusion by demonstrating the necessity for the transformation of the body in order to enter everlasting life in the age to come (verse 53), explains that both living and dead saints must be transformed (verses 51-52), reiterates that the Resurrection takes place at the parousia of Jesus (verse 52) and that its occurrence means the end of Death (verses 54-55). The “mystery” that Paul reveals is simply that Christians still alive at the “coming” of Jesus will be transformed just as the dead.

A number of implications and general conclusions can be made from this chapter, including:

1) Bodily resurrection is fundamental and nonnegotiable to Christian hope.  If there is no bodily resurrection there is no genuine Christian hope. Life in the age to come will be an embodied not disembodied existence.

2) The bodily Resurrection of the church occurs simultaneously with the “coming” or parousia of Jesus.

3) The “coming” of Jesus means “the end” of this age.

4) The “coming” of Jesus occurs subsequent to his subjugation of all God’s enemies, including death. With the arrival of Jesus from heaven, death ceases.

5) There will be Christians alive on the earth when Jesus comes.

6) The complete physical transformation of bodies implies a similar transformation of the Creation; that is, New Creation.

7) The passage never once mentions or implies a future removal of Christians from the earth or their transportation to a realm outside of the Creation. Jesus “comes” to the earth where dead and living Christians are physically transformed.

Several points made by Paul are highly problematic if not fatal to the doctrine of the pre-tribulation Rapture.  They leave no room for thinks like the Tribulation, death, destruction, the Antichrist and so on following the “coming” of Jesus.

ENDNOTES:

[i] Hal Lindsey, Vanished into Thin Air (Beverly Hills:  Western Front Ltd., 1999), p. 53.

[ii] Tim LaHaye, The Rapture (Eugene, OR:  Harvest House Pub., 2002), p. 44.

[iii] John Walvoord, The Rapture Question (Grand Rapids:  Zondervan, 1979), p. 34.

The Definitive “Sign” of the End of the Age

Matthew 24:2-3, “Jesus answered them, ‘Do you see all these things? Truly, I am declaring to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be torn down!’ As he sat on the Mount of Olives the disciples came to him privately, saying, ‘When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’

Matthew 24:4 marks the start of the so-called ‘Olivet Discourse’ of Jesus, the last block of his teachings recorded in the three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke). In it Jesus responded to questions about when the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple would occur and what would be the “sign” of the End of the age. This Discourse contains Christ’s predictions as well as warnings to his disciples of coming dangers, all in response to both questions.

In discussions about the “Last Days” and the End of the age questions inevitably arise regarding “signs” signifying its nearness.  Typical answers include earthquakes, warfare, plagues and international conflicts. But Jesus specifically stated such things are NOT signs of the end (Matthew 24:6 – “you will hear of wars and reports of wars; be not alarmed; for these things must take place, but the end is not yet”). Such things “must come.” They are inevitable and characteristic of every period of history. However, they indicate only a “beginning of labor pains.” They may be harbingers of the End, but they are not “signs” by which one can ascertain its timing or proximity.

Did Jesus provide an explicit “sign” by which disciples can ascertain the approach of the End?  In Matthew 24:14 he stated: “this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole habitable earth for testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.” The specific indicator or “sign” of the End Jesus gave was: the completion of gospel mission throughout the world.

This means much more than simply announcing the name of Jesus or building churches in every corner of the globe. Using the Greek demonstrative pronoun for emphasis (houtos), Jesus declared, “this gospel of the Kingdom” must first be proclaimed to every nation. “This” signifies the same gospel message Jesus himself proclaimed. Disseminating a watered-down or corrupted version of Christianity will not do. It must be the very same gospel Jesus taught and proclaimed. Until that task is completed the End cannot come. And in Matthew 24:14 Jesus defined the content of his message:  the Kingdom of God. The coming establishment of the full reign and realm of God on the earth must first be heralded throughout the world. All nations must be given the opportunity to prepare for the Kingdom’s arrival.

The Kingdom of God was the core of Jesus’ proclamation from start to finish (Mark 1:15). “Kingdom of God” is the phrase summarizing its contents found repeatedly on the lips of Jesus in the gospel accounts. His mission was to herald this approaching Kingdom throughout Israel from Galilee to Jerusalem. The task Jesus assigned to his church was to proclaim the same message of the Kingdom throughout the world beginning in “Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19, Luke 24:47).

How does one know when the task of gospel proclamation is complete and the End at hand?  Jesus provided the answer:  when the End arrives! The completion of gospel mission is the “sign” of the End.  Gospel proclamation is the primary task Jesus gave his church to complete before his return (Matthew 28:19, Acts 1:8). This present age must continue, “until the full number of the Gentiles comes in, and in this manner all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25-26. Compare Luke 21:24, Revelation 6:9-11, 7:9).

Man cannot ascertain the progress of this task. God alone knows when it will be finished. The “logic” of Jesus in Matthew 24:14 may be circular but is deliberately so. The End will come when “this gospel of the kingdom” has been proclaimed to all nations.  Since the End has not yet arrived, the task remains unfinished. If anything, this saying of Jesus is more exhortation than it is prophetic calculator for determining “times and seasons.”  It is admonishment for the church to engage in gospel mission. The completion of the proclamation of the Kingdom is a “sign” of the End. However, it is not one that can be used to calculate its nearness.  As Jesus warned, such knowledge remains with “the Father alone” (Matthew 24:36).

Men and women will continue to desire to know when Jesus will arrive from heaven.  This is human nature and has been the case since the beginning of the church.  The final question of his disciples before Jesus ascended to heaven was, “will you at this time restore the kingdom?” The response of Jesus was clear:  “it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”

Interpretive Key to Revelation (1:19-20 As Tutorial)

[Revelation 1:19] – “Write, therefore, what things you saw and what they are; and what things are going to come to pass after these.”

● Overview ●

Frequently the Book of Revelation provides interpretations of its symbolism & imagery within its various visions.  For example, Revelation 1:20 explains what two pictorial images from the opening vision represent.  The seven lamp stands that John “saw” symbolize the seven churches of Asia and the seven stars in the right hand of Jesus represent the seven “angels” of the seven churches.

In the immediately preceding verse John was told to write down first what he “saw,” then what those things “are,” and finally the impending realities to which they point (“what things are going to come to pass after these”). Thus, verse 19 established a pattern for the interpretation of Revelation’s symbols and verse 20 provided an illustration of its application.

In the rush to read today’s more spectacular news headlines into the book of Revelation we often overlook the interpretations provided by Revelation itself.  To better understand the significance of its symbolism it is vital to begin with internal examples of how the book interprets its visions. Revelation 1:19-20 provides the pattern and essentially functions as a tutorial on how to interpret Revelation.

● “And He Signified” – Means of Communication  (visionary symbolism) ●

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show to his servants the things that must come to pass soon, and he signified through his angel to his servant John” (1:1).

The first verse of Revelation explains that it is a “revelation of Jesus Christ” that God gave to him. In turn Jesus communicated it to John of Patmos through his angel (1:1). The information it contains is for God’s “servants” and concerns “things that must come to pass soon” (compare Daniel 2:28-30, 2:45).  Precisely how did Jesus communicate this revelation via his angel to John?

The last half of verse 1 states, “he signified, sending by his angel to his servant, John.”  The Greek verb rendered “signified” is sémainō (σημαινω – see John 12:33, 18:32, 21:19, Acts 11:28, 25:27), a word related to the Greek noun for “sign” or sémeion (σημειον).  The latter is used in the sense “sign” seven times in Revelation (12:1, 12:3, 13:13, 13:14, 15:1, 16:14, 19:20). Sémainō occurs only once in Revelation. The verb sémainō means to “signify,” to “show by sign or token” (see John 12:33, 18:32, 21:19, Acts 11:28, 25:27).[i]  Thus Revelation 1:1 specifies the medium of communication that the book employs is visionary symbolism.

This visual aspect of Revelation is emphasized throughout the book by the repeated references to what John “saw” (e.g., “and I saw…”).  The Greek verb for “see” occurs fifty-six times in Revelation.  For example, Revelation 1:2 states that John “testified to all that he saw.”  In verse 19 John “saw” one like a “son of man” who commanded him to “write what he saw.”  After John heard this voice he turned “and saw” a vision of one like a “son of man” walking among “seven golden lamp stands.”

● “Write What They Are” – Revelation Interprets Itself ●

“Write, therefore, what things you saw and what they are; and what things are going to come to pass after these” (1:19).

In this opening vision Revelation provides a “key” or formula for interpreting its imagery.  This is followed by an example of how this pattern is applied; a “tutorial,” so to speak, for how to interpret the book’s symbolism.  In this passage an angelic voice explains the meaning of two symbols John has just seen. In Revelation 1:19 John is commanded to write down “what things you saw,” then what those things “ARE (Greek, eisin or εσιν),” finally “what things are going to come to pass after these.”[ii]

What John “saw” refers to the actual images seen in each vision. What they “are” translates the common Greek verb eimi or “to be” (ειμι), here in the present tense, third person plural form or eisin (“they are”). “What they are” refers to the explanations provided in the visions.  John is to write down both the description each vision and what he is told each one signifies.

The next verse does exactly this (1:20). In his inaugural vision John “sees” the risen Christ walking among seven golden “lamp stands” while holding seven stars in his right hand (1:9-20). The seven stars are labeled “the mystery,” translating the Greek noun mystérion (μυστηριον), which means “secret.” It refers to something hidden or veiled. To understand what is concealed requires knowledge previously unavailable. That the stars and lamp stands are called “mystery” makes clear they are not actual or “literal” stars and lampstands.  They are symbols that point to other realities.

John is told the seven stars “are” (esin) the angels or “messengers” of the seven churches of Asia, and the seven golden lamp stands “are” (esin) the seven churches. In both clauses the same Greek verb form is used as in verse 19, “are” or esin.

Revelation interprets at least nine more of its pictorial images using this precise same formula, that is, “are” or esin. In each case the visionary images are not taken as literal descriptions but as symbols that represent something else.  For example:

1) The “seven lamps of fire” before the throne “are” (esin) the “seven spirits of God” (4:5).

2) The Lamb’s seven eyes “are” (esin) the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth (5:6).

3) The bowls of incense “are” (esin) the “prayers of the saints” (5:8).

4) The great multitudes “are” (esin) those who “are coming out of the great tribulation” (7:13).

5) The Two Witnesses “are” (esin) “the two olive trees and the two lampstands” that stand before the Lord (11:4. Compare 1:20).

6) Three unclean spirits like frogs “are” (esin) spirits of demons sent to perform “signs” to gather the kings of the earth to the war of “the great day of God the Almighty” (16:13-14).

7) The seven heads of the Beast “are” (esin) seven mountains on which Babylon sits (17:9).

8) The ten horns of the Beast “are” (esin) ten kings who have not yet received power to rule (17:12).

9) The waters on which Babylon sits “are” (esin)  “peoples, multitudes, nations & tongues” (17:15).

The Two Witnesses in Revelation 11:4 represent “two lamp stands.” The verse does not explain what lamp stands symbolize. However, there is no need to do so because Revelation applies its symbolism consistently.  Revelation 1:20 already explained that “lamp stands” represent churches. Thus the Two Witnesses represent churches.

Additionally, the same formula from Revelation 1:19 is employed to interpret other symbols using singular forms of eimi (e.g., “it is…,” “he is…”) or other verbs in the present tense. For example:

1) The great city that “spiritually” is “called” (kaleitai) Sodom & Egypt (11:8).

2) The great red dragon “who is called” (kaloumenos) the “Devil and Satan” (12:9).

3) Imprisonment or martyrdom “is” (estin) the “endurance & faith” of the saints (13:10).

4) The endurance of the saints “is” (estin) they who keep the faith of Jesus (14:12).

5) And gathered them to the place “called” (kaloumenon) in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon (16:16).

6) The description “in the Hebrew tongue” is a clue to the significance of the name Armageddon and the scriptural source behind it (Zechariah 12:11).

7) The great harlot “is” (estin) the great city with dominion over the kings of the earth (17:18).

8) The fine linen “is” (estin) the righteousness of the saints (19:8).

9) The lake of fire “is” (estin) the “second death” (20:14 & 21:8).

10) The dragon and ancient serpent “is” (estin) the “Devil and Satan” (20:2).

In places the angelic being that accompanies John provides explanations of images just seen. For example, in Revelation 7:9-17 John sees a great innumerable multitude arrayed in white robes standing before the throne and the Lamb.  This group consists of individuals from “every nation.” When asked who they are and from whence they came, John does not know.  One of the twenty-four “elders” then explains, “they are those who are coming out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Another example is found in chapter 17.  In verses 1-6 John is “carried away in spirit into the wilderness.” There he sees a “woman sitting on a scarlet beast full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.” She has a name, a “mystery” written on her forehead, “Babylon the great, the Mother of the Harlots and of the Abominations of the earth.” That this name is a “mystery” makes clear it does not refer to the literal city of Babylon, ancient or rebuilt, in Mesopotamia.  The true meaning of the name must be unveiled.  The angel with John interprets the meanings of the female figure and the scarlet beast in verses 7-18. The woman is “the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth” (verse 18), a city already linked to “seven mountains” in verse 9.  In the symbolism of John’s day this refers to Rome, the city that ruled much of the known world.

● Summary ●

The images in Revelation are often bizarre and sometimes portray physical impossibilities. A woman arrayed “with the sun” and the moon “beneath her feet,” for example, cannot be literal description.

It should be obvious from images like a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes, or a beast with ten horns and seven heads, that we are dealing with symbolism.  Yet many continue to insist that Revelation’s images must be interpreted “literally.”  Contradicting this insistence is how the book itself often interprets its images symbolically. In each case the image is not taken “literally” but is explained as representing something else.

The point is not that Revelation is “allegory” or parable.  It is concerned with real issues and its contents concern real events “that must come to pass.”  But John did not time travel to the future; his descriptions are not examples of how a first century man would attempt to describe strange technologies and scenes from the future.

John received visions when he “came to be in spirit.” In those visions he saw images and heard explanations.  The symbols point to definite realities but are not themselves real.  The failure to understand that Revelation communicates symbolically, along with the insistence that it must be interpreted “literally,” in the end can only produce incorrect interpretations.

ENDNOTES:

[i] Merrill C. Tenney, Interpreting Revelation (Peabody, Mass.:  Hendrickson Publishers, 2001), p. 186; Plutarch, Moralia, 404E; Xenophon, Memorabilia, I, I, 19; Marvin Vincent, Vincent’s Word Studies (New York:  1886).

[ii] J. Ramsey Michaels, Revelation (Downers Grover, IL:  InterVarsity Press, 1997), pp. 62-63.

The Identity of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel

Threaded through the Gospel of Mark is an ironic theme:  Until his crucifixion no man or woman truly recognized who Jesus was or acknowledged him as “Son of God.”.

In Mark 1:10-11 a divine voice from heaven proclaimed Jesus “Son.” The very demons cast out by Jesus recognized exactly who he was (1:24, 5:7). When demonic spirits attempted to identify him to those nearby, Jesus commanded them to be silent “because they knew who he was” (1:34). Though demonic spirits understood, men and women in the Gospel of Mark were unable to perceive who Jesus truly was, even members of his own family.

After casting out a demon a crowd “was amazed, one and all, so that they began to discuss among themselves saying, ‘What is this?’” (1:27).  Even the closest disciples of Jesus appear clueless in Mark’s Gospel.  Following the miraculous calming of a storm, the disciples were in fear and asked one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?” (4:41).  It seems even a miraculous display of this magnitude was insufficient to open the eyes of the disciples.

At one point Peter seems to have finally grasped who Jesus was when he declared to him, “you are the Messiah” (8:29).  But appearances can be deceiving.  As Jesus began to explain that his Messiahship meant suffering, rejection and death (8:31), Peter “began to rebuke him” (8:32).  The idea of a suffering and humiliated Messiah was unacceptable to Peter. Jesus in turn rebuked Peter with a sharp reprimand, “Withdraw behind me, Satan, because you are not regarding the things of God but the things of men!”

Only at the Cross did one man finally recognize Jesus for who and what he truly was. Mark 15:39 states, “when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that he thus breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God’.” Only as Jesus was crucified did someone begin to understand. Ironically the one who did so was not one of his disciples or “inner circle,” but a Gentile Roman officer, one who was part of the very squad of soldiers tasked with executing Jesus.

There is no Christianity without Christ.

There is no saving faith apart from Christ Crucified.

Certainly reurrection is the other side of this coin. Christ’s death would have been in vain if God had not vindicated him through resurrection. When he predicted his death Jesus also foretold his resurrection from the dead (“the Son of Man must suffer many things…and be slain; and after three days arise”). But resurrection only follows after death.  The death of Christ was preceded by humble submission and faithful obedience to the point of a shameful death by crucifixion. In the biblical scheme humiliation, rejection, false charges and unjust suffering precede exaltation and glory.

In Philippians 2:6-11 the Apostle Paul was not engaging in metaphysical speculations about the nature of Christ. Instead he was presenting Jesus’ example of self-sacrificial service and humble obedience. Rather than assert himself or insist on his “rights,” Jesus “poured himself out taking the form of a slave.” He humbled himself by becoming “obedient as far as death, even death upon a cross.” This Paul holds up as a model for Christians at Philippi, exhorting them to “look not to your own things but to the things of others; let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:4-5). The crisis point in the life of Jesus, epitomized in the Garden of Gethsemane, transpired when he faced the decision whether to submit to an unjust and shameful death or to abandon his messianic calling.  The choice was his.

In Corinth the church was divided by schisms. In response Paul held up the example of Christ crucified. The cross, he claimed, is “foolishness” to those who are perishing but “God’s power” to those who are being saved (1 Corinthians 1:18). Paul proclaimed a Messiah who had been crucified:  a “scandal” to Jews and “folly” to Gentiles. The idea that the nation’s greatest enemy, Rome, executed the Messiah of Israel was scandalous to a devout Jew. A crucified Messiah was a contradiction in terms. To a Hellenized Gentile of the Empire the suggestion that God’s ultimate answer to evil was the shameful execution of a messianic pretender by the world’s most powerful State was pure foolishness (verses 23-24). Yet this very thing, the crucified Messiah, became “God’s power and God’s wisdom.”

Christ crucified is the pattern, the paradigm, the model disciples of Jesus are called to emulate. To follow Jesus means to configure one’s life according to his example. This call goes back to Christ himself. Jesus admonished his followers that “a disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above his master” (Matthew 10:24-25). “He that does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38).

When some of his disciples disputed who among them would be the “greatest” in the kingdom, Jesus corrected them: “not so is it to be among you, but whoever shall desire to become great among you shall be your minister; and whosoever shall desire to be first among you shall be your slave: just as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto but to minister, and to give his life a ransom instead of many.”

The call of discipleship is a call for true believers in Jesus to live out their lives in self-sacrificial service to one another, to follow the pattern of Christ’s example by living cruciform lives. Rather than self-promotion or seeking to fulfill personal dreams and desires, following Jesus means a life of humble submission and obedience to the will of his Father.

Only in the Cross of Christ are we able to understand the true identity of Jesus and the nature of his call. Resurrection and glory will come for all who follow Jesus, but only after we first embrace the Cross of Christ.

The Coming of Jesus in 2 Peter

● Introduction ●

Peter’s second epistle is concerned with false teachers and heresies that had invaded several Christian congregations.  These deceivers were making false claims about the return of Jesus, having charged either that it was delayed or more likely was not coming at all.

This letter was likely written near the end of Peter’s life in the late 60s A.D. (compare 2 Peter 1:12-13), almost a generation after the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Presumably many members of the first generation of Christians had died including most of the original apostles.  The hope of Christ’s return was a fervent one among the first generation of believers and central to the faith. From a human perspective time progressed with the surrounding pagan society apparently remaining the same. It would have been easy to interpret the non-arrival of the Second Coming to be “delay.”  2 Peter was designed to refute such ideas.

In the process of defending his position Peter did what no other New Testament had explicitly done:  provide a rational theological explanation for why Jesus has not yet returned.  Rather than “delay” or failure, the ostensible “postponement” of the parousia was instead according to God’s plan and patient mercy, His desire for all men and women to repent and receive salvation.

This brief and often neglected letter contains a message of importance and relevance to contemporary Christianity.

● 2 Peter 3:3-7 ●

[2 Peter 3:3-7] – “Of this first taking note that there will come in the last of the days scoffers with scoffing, going on after their own lusts and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming [parousia], for since the fathers fell asleep all things thus remain from the beginning of creation?’ For this they willfully forget–that there were heavens from of old and an earth on account of water and by means of water compacted by God’s word, by which means the world that then was with water being flooded perished; while the heavens and the earth that now are by the same word have been stored with fire being kept unto the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly men.

Peter gets to the heart of the matter by citing a teaching of his opponents (verse 4 – “Where is the promise of his coming [parousia], for since the fathers fell asleep all things thus remain from the beginning of creation?”). His audience must heed warnings previously delivered by the apostles, ones that originated from Jesus.  In “the last days” deceivers will arise and disseminate false information about the “coming” of Jesus. The beginning of the fulfillment of this prophecy is evidenced by the presence of these false teachers that deny the promised “coming” of Jesus (Mark 13:21-22, 1 Timothy 4:1-2, 2 Timothy 3:1, 1 John 2:18, Jude 18).

Like other New Testament authors, Peter understands the “last days” as a state of affairs already in existence as a consequence of the Death, Resurrection and Exaltation of Jesus (e.g., Acts 2:17, Galatians 4:4, 2 Timothy 3:1, Hebrews 1:2, 9:26, 1 Peter 1:20, 1 John 2:18). Thus, verse 3 is not a prophecy concerning events yet to unfold thousands of years in the future, but one already underway in Peter’s day, as demonstrated by the activities of these deceivers.

The false teachers “scoff” at the notion of a future “coming” of Jesus in power that brings judgment on the disobedient, pointing to History’s continuing flow as evidence to the contrary. Above all else–

“The teachers poured scorn on the futurity of the parousia on the ground that the apostolic tradition that took its stand on the Lord’s word to come again was falsified by history and that the course of history flows on in imperturbably smooth channels, with no divine interposition.  The delay in the parousia was thus the major buttress to support and defend their beliefs and behavior.”[i]

Peter now refutes their claim.  His opponents “willfully forget” that God previously judged and destroyed the world of Noah “by His word.”  Rather than prove life always continues in a state of relative normalcy, History demonstrates the opposite.  Not only have natural and manmade catastrophes occurred frequently throughout human history, on more than one occasion God has directly intervened to bring destruction because of sin. Moreover, by the same “word of God” the present universe is being kept for “the day of judgment and destruction.”

● 2 Peter 3:8-10 ●

[2 Peter 3:8-10] – “But this one thing forget not, beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some count slackness; but is long-suffering with regard to you, not being minded that any should perish but that all should come unto repentance. Howbeit, the day of the Lord will be here as a thief, in which the heavens with a rushing noise will pass away, while elements becoming intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works therein will be discovered.”

Regarding any supposed “delay” of the parousia, Peter cites Psalm 90:4 to demonstrate that what man thinks of as “delay” is with God no such thing (“one day with the Lord is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day”).  This is not intended to be a prophetic “clock” or calculator whereby men can calculate the end of History or divide it into neat “dispensations,” rather it emphasizes that God does not account time as man does.  He is not subject to the timetables and expectations of men.

Not only is the non-arrival of Jesus not “delay” or failure, it is due to God’s mercy and patience. Peter now gives a rational reason for the “delay”:  God’s desire that all men be saved.  He “is not slack concerning his promise…but long-suffering, not minded that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (verse 9). God’s “delay” will in the end mean salvation for many.

However, men should not deceive themselves and begin to take advantage of God’s patience.  The “day of the Lord” will certainly arrive at the appointed time “like a thief.” This alludes to a saying of Jesus about how the arrival of the Son of Man will be like an unexpected incursion by a thief in the dark of night (Matthew 24:42-43, Luke 12:39, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, Revelation 2:2, 16:15). This analogy emphasizes the unknowability of the timing and the suddenness of Christ’s coming. It is noteworthy that Peter links if not identifies the parousia of Jesus with the “Day of the Lord” (compare 1 Corinthians 5:5, 2 Corinthians 1:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

On that Day the existing creation will “pass away” and “be dissolved,” replaced by a New Creation in which “righteousness is to dwell” (verses 10, 13). Thus the arrival of Jesus in power means judgment and destruction for the disobedient but vindication and life for the obedient.  In light of all this and the certainty of Christ’s coming, “what manner of persons ought ye all to be in the interim in holy ways of behavior and acts of godliness?”

● 2 Peter 3:11-15 ●

[2 Peter 3:11-15] – “Seeing that all these things are thus to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye all the while to be in holy ways of behavior and acts of godliness, expecting and hastening the presence of the day of God by reason of which heavens being on fire, will be dissolved and elements becoming intensely hot are to be melted; but new heavens and a new earth according to his promise are we expecting wherein righteousness is to dwell. Wherefore beloved, expecting these things give diligence unspotted and unblemished by him to be found in peace; and account our Lord’s long suffering to be salvation.”

In light of all this and the certainty of Christ’s coming, “what manner of persons ought ye all to be in the interim in holy ways of behavior and acts of godliness?” Not only ought Christians to live holy lives in this expectation, by doing so they can “hasten the coming (parousia) of the Day of God” (verse 12). “Hasten” translates the Greek verb speudō (σπευδω), here a present tense participle. When used transitively (as here) speudō means, to “urge on, hurry along, quicken, cause to happen soon, act quickly, accelerate.”

This Greek word, speudō, is used in the same sense of hastening things along in Acts 20:16, “Paul decided to sail past Ephesus so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.” Luke uses it elsewhere to mean to “make haste” (Luke 2:16, 19:5-6, Acts 22:18).

The implications of this statement from verse 12 are profound but all too often overlooked. Not only does Peter explicitly state why Jesus has not yet come (i.e., because of God’s longsuffering mercy), he indicates Christian action can advance the arrival of that Day (and by implication wrong action or inaction can delay it). If there is “delay,” the fault does not lie with God or Jesus.

Finally, in several statements Peter ties the destruction of the old order and inauguration of New Creation to the “coming” or parousia of Jesus. This has critical implications for several popular schools of prophetic interpretation, in particular those categorized as ‘pre-millennial.’

● Summary ●

Peter provides the only detailed explanation in the New Testament for why Jesus has not yet returned to the earth:  because God in his mercy and patience has allowed men and women time to repent and receive salvation.  Moreover, God does not set his plans or timetables according to mankind’s schedule or judgment.

The future arrival of that Day is certain. It will arrive “like a thief” on the day determined by God. God’s promise has not failed; there has been no “delay.”  Contrary to what some might allege, things have not always continued without interruptions from the past to the present. Smooth flow and normalcy have not characterized every period of human history.  Previous generations have experienced natural and manmade disasters, as well as direct judgment and intervention by God.  The latter has always meant deliverance for some but destruction for others. History ought to caution men and women against assuming things will always continue as they appear to be today.

In his refutation of the false teachers Peter introduced a revolutionary idea that should impact how Christians live:  Christian action can affect the date of the End of this Age; it can hasten that Day or delay it.  According to Peter Christian “behavior and acts of godliness” hasten the Day of the Lord. He did not spell out the kind of “godly acts” that speed things up; however, in the larger passage he argued that God put off this Day of reckoning to allow space for mankind to repent. Moreover, elsewhere Jesus linked “the end” to the completion of gospel mission (Matthew 24:14, Luke 24:47, Acts 1:8, Romans 11:15-26). Almost certainly gospel proclamation is included among Peter’s “godly acts.”

While the situation of Peter’s original audience may not seem directly relevant to the contemporary church, that could easily change.  We live at a time when many voices in the church have fanned the flames of apocalyptic expectations. Many Christians are convinced Jesus will appear momentarily or within a few years at most.  Some popular preachers have assured millions of believers that they constitute History’s “last generation,” that Jesus will undoubtedly arrive before the present generation reaches its termination point.  This has set up millions of Christians for potential disappointment and failure.

The New Testament is clear:  no knows or is able to calculate the timing of Jesus’ arrival in glory (Matthew 24:36, 25:13, Mark 13:32, 1 Thessalonians 5:2).  Christ will come “in a season when you least expect him” (Mark 13:33).  Only the Father knows the “times and seasons” (Matthew 24:36, Acts 1:6-8). This does mean Jesus certainly could come within this generation, but that fact remains unknown. If he does not, many Christians could falter when their hopes are dashed. That will create an opportunity for deceivers to raise the challenge:  “where is the promise of his coming, for all things continue as they were?”

Finally, while not originally intended to do so, 2 Peter 3:1-13 raises significant obstacles to several popular schools of interpretation, especially pre-millennialism.

Pre-millennialism teaches that a thousand year interim period follows the return of Christ during which he and his saints reign on the earth, at the end of which Satan is released to rebel against God one last time.  God decisively crushes the revolt, which is followed by the judgment of the dead, the descent of New Jerusalem to the earth and New Creation.  In contrast, in 2 Peter’s scenario destruction of the wicked, vindication of the righteous and the arrival of the New Creation coincide with the “coming” of Jesus, the “day of the Lord.”

Thus in Peter’s portrayal Jesus’ arrival from heaven is an event of great finality.  This leaves no room for the Millennium or a thousand-year interim period that intervenes between the coming of Jesus and the New Creation.

END NOTES:

[i] Andrew Chester, Ralph Martin, Theology of the Letters of James, Peter & Jude (Cambridge University Press, 1996), p. 141.