Terrain Day 15 Life’s Landscape: Digging Deeper

1) Why is Peter so insistent that we “don’t overlook this one fact”? (verse 8)
Peter wrote two letters to the believers who had scattered across the ancient world as Nero’s persecution hotly pursued them. (1 Peter 1:1 and 2 Peter 3:1) Backing up in chapter 3, Peter reminds his listeners of his mission statement, “I want to stir up your sincere understanding by way of reminder, so that you recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles.” (2 Peter 3:1-2) Peter warns the believers of deceiving voices that would rise around them when trouble came, and to defeat their mockery by clinging to the truths they knew from Scripture. These people would be quick to taunt the believers’ faith, “Where is His ‘coming’ that He promised?” (verse 4) You can almost hear their sneers and scoffs, can’t you? It’s as if they are saying, “You’re going to die for your faith! Why won’t your “God” rescue you? He must be lying!”. If these believers were able to read Paul’s letter to the Philippians written about 2 years prior, they could have been encouraged when he wrote to “not be frightened in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of destruction for them, but of your salvation—and this is from God.” (Philippians 1:28) In light of intense persecution against body and mind, Peter underscores his point, “With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.” (verse 8) The Lord God is outside of time, yet He graciously chooses to work within it for our sake. He cannot be unfaithful. (2 Timothy 2:13) He cannot lie. (Titus 1:2) He will return to rescue His people. (2 Peter 3:5-7) Hold firmly, persecuted Church, the Lord has not forgotten you, His beloved ones.

2) How does the truth of God being outside of time (verse 8) significantly shape our view of His patience? (verses 9-10)
To fully catch the significance Peter intended, it’s important we read the whole chapter and follow the logic Peter carefully laid out. (1) He reminds them that God’s truthful messages and His character have remained unchanging since the beginning of creation and for eternity prior. (verse 2) (2) He wants them to be aware of scoffers, mockers, and those who would attempt to sway believers’ faith by deceiving them into believing God cannot be trusted. (verses 3-4) (3) The truth that God’s purposes have never failed or shifted regardless of circumstances (verses 5-7) coupled with the truth that God exists outside of time confidently assures believers that His timing is absolutely, unequivocally perfect. There is no guessing with God, no random events, no accidental slippage of a few millennia, let alone a few seconds. Because this God is absolutely precise, what looks like “delayed waiting” from our timeline perspective, has no variance of “delay” according to Him. Peter writes clearly, “The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay…” (verse 9) Where we ache, beg, plead, and even scream for full redemption, for His perfect justice to come now, and for relief from the ridicule and taunts, the Lord’s answer, for now, is divine patience. Not because He is a cruel, desiring our torture and prolonged agony, but because He desires “(none) to perish, but all to come to repentance”. (verse 9) He waits, in our timeline, because His ache for more Beloved Ones to know Him as Redeemer and Rescuer is greater than His desire to free us from our temporary suffering. Eternity is in His heart. Only the God who exists outside of time can see a picture big enough to have that kind of radical love for His enemies who actively rebel against Him. (Romans 5:8)

3) What element does time play in this passage as a whole and what are the actions associated with that timing?
Verbiage descriptive of time is heavy throughout chapter 3, which should be a waving flag for us as students of Scripture to slow down and dig into each instance. Repetition of a thought, or even a word, in the Bible is like a bold underline, emphatically designed to grab our attention. For this specific passage, each reference to time is also connected with a specific action, result, or command. We are to take note of this and hold firmly to these truths! The Lord God had very clear truths He wanted Peter to proclaim to the early church. Which ones can you uncover as we look at the text? “Scoffers will come in the last days” (verse 3), “By the Word of the Lord the heavens came into being long ago” (verse 5), “the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire” (verse 7), “With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day” (verse 8), “The Lord does not delay His promise” (verse 9), “The day of the Lord will come like a thief” (verse 10), “on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise” (verse 10), “you should be in holy conduct and godliness as you wait for the day of God” (verse 11), “Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire” (verse 12), “based on His promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth” (verse 13), “while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in His sight, at peace” (verse 14), “since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by error” (verse 17), “To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity” (verse 18). What truths did you find?!