Peter is speaking of the return of Jesus and is opposing the ‘scoffers’ who doubt He will come. He is reminding God’s people that the return is a promise and it will surely happen. God is not slow but is waiting for us to reach as many people with His love and gospel as we can for He does not want anyone to perish.
“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.” (2 Peter 3 v 10)
The day of the Lord is coming. We find this phrase throughout the Old Testament to indicate the intervention from God into His world. The cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the day of the Lord, the great move of God where the power of sin and death was defeated as we surrender our lives at the feet of this great act. But there is a further ‘day of the Lord’ to come and that is the ending of all that we know and the beginning of the new. It is the return of Christ.
This day will be like a thief. Even though the promise of the day is throughout the Scriptures it will catch people unaware especially the ‘scoffers’ who are not thinking it will happen at all. Remember that Peter’s intention is to confront the ‘scoffers’ and not to give a detailed account of the return of Jesus. So can you see the 3 things Peter says?
“The heavens will disappear with a roar” – whatever Peter has in mind it is clear that though Jesus’ return will be surprising it will not be hidden. It will be heard!
“the elements will be destroyed by fire” – Peter then says that the very centre of everything will be gone. The matter that holds everything together, the heart of our world, it will be burnt up.
“and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare” – with a swipe at those ‘scoffers’ Peter says everything will be exposed. What is hidden will no longer be hidden.
Jesus will come when the world is not expecting it (and that could even be the Church). When He does everything that Christ has held together will be released. Christ sustains everything and when He comes He will stop sustaining. He will take His hand off this world and what we know will change … ready for the new!
Missions Paul 