Copyright © S P Townsend
We live in a time of unprecedented calamities and troubles. Floods and fires, earthquakes and tsunamis, storms and hurricanes, collapsing economies and famines, war and terrorism. Some see these terrible things as God’s judgement on peoples and nations. But they are not God’s judgement. When God’s judgement comes it will be terrible, universal and final, and no one will be able to shrug it off and continue as before. No, these are not God’s judgements. Rather they are evidences of his continuing mercy and patience, for they are warnings to the world. They are God’s messages pleading with the world to turn back from its own way and turn to him for salvation. But are the warnings being heeded? Which of the nations’ leaders is encouraging its peoples to fast and pray that God’s eventual judgement might, if possible, be averted? Yes, they are warnings, and the warnings are coming closer and faster and more intense all the time, like labour pains as the time of birth approaches. They are telling us that the time is very short – the Day of the Lord is almost upon us.
The Bible tells us that wickedness and evil will build up more and more as the years go by. Jesus spoke of this time, telling us that those who seek to live righteously will be persecuted, and betrayal and hatred will be increasingly evident (Matt 24:4-12). This will culminate with the coming of a leader who will epitomise evil. The Bible describes him as the “man of sin” and the “lawless one” (2 Thess 2:1-4). He will proclaim himself to be God, and will support his claim with all kinds of deceptions and wonderful acts. He will carry out every kind of evil. He will deceive most people, but those who are deceived will merely reap the consequences of their own refusal to receive the truth that God reveals to them, and to receive his salvation (2 Thess 2:11,12).
At present God is holding back the tide of evil (2 Thess 2:6,7). But the day will come when God’s restraining power will be relaxed, and then the full force of evil in the heart of man will be revealed. And that is the time when God’s judgement will be poured out. The prophet Zephaniah calls it the Great Day of the Lord, a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish (Zeph 1:14,15). The day of the Lord will be a time when God’s ultimate and final judgement is poured out on the wickedness of the world.
And yet right now, perhaps on the very eve of that dreadful day, is the time of God’s patience. Isaiah called it the “year of the Lord’s favour” (Isa 61:2), and Jesus said that today, right now, that time has come (Luke 4:19-21). Why is God being patient? In order that as many as possible will come to repentance and faith (2 Pet 3:9).
Because this time of God’s patience is extended, some are tempted to scoff that the Bible’s teaching about evil and judgement are nonsense. But Peter says they forget what God has done in the past, at the time of Noah and with Sodom and Gomorrah (2 Pet 2:5-9). God’s patience is so that people will return to him. He still holds open the door of his grace. It is not his desire that any should perish, but that all should come to salvation (2 Pet 3:9).
You see, the spirit that motivates the “man of sin” is the same spirit that motivates evil in the heart of every person. Paul says that “he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thess 2:4). And that is just what you and I do when we think we can live our own lives as we wish, without reference to the God who made us. Our hearts are designed to be His temple – the place where He has control and is honoured. But instead we place ourselves on the throne, and from that act comes every evil and wickedness that mankind is capable of.
But God’s grace and favour is still offered to us. God’s Son, Jesus, came to earth to die a criminal’s death, although he had done no wrong. And the Bible says it was because God loved us so much that he sent his Son, so that whoever puts their trust in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Through faith in him we can have our sins forgiven.
Judgement and wrath are not the end of the story. They are the beginning of the end, but God’s final intention is a world of righteousness, not wickedness. A world of peace, not wrath. Peter tells us that all of God’s purposes are working towards the fulfilment of his promises, in what he calls a “home of righteousness” (2 Pet 3:13).
Although judgement is coming on the wicked, God knows how to rescue his people from the trial (2 Pet 2:9), just as he rescued Noah and Lot in times gone by.
And the trials to be faced are not just the righteous judgements of God. Jesus told us that as the time of the end approaches those opposed to God will do all they can to deter folk from following him and living lives that please him. The people of God will be persecuted, killed, hated, deceived, and will face an almost overwhelming barrage of evil directed at them. But he will enable those who truly love him to stand true to him through it all, and they will continue to inform the world of God’s grace and love (Matt 24:9-14). And then the end will come, and those who love God and live for Jesus will finally inherit the home of righteousness that God has prepared for them.
Peter concludes with an exhortation to all who follow Jesus and want to live lives that please God. If this is about to happen, he says, what kind of people should you be? (2 Pet 3:11). Live holy and godly lives, he says. Look forward to this day, without fear, making every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with God. Be on your guard against error. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (2 Pet 3: 14-18).
Copyright © S P Townsend