The Patience of God (2 Peter 3:8-9)
We saw in the previous passage the certainty of the coming judgment. One may ask why God does not get it over with and teach the mockers a lesson they will want to forget. God is patient. He will not yield to the foolishness of the mockers because they will be damned forever, with no hope.
Different Reckoning of Time (v. 8). The first thing we ought to note is that God perceives Time in a totally different way from us. Peter echoes the words of Moses in Psalm 90:4, that a thousand years is like a day that passes, then he adds that a day is as a thousand years. What this means is that God’s concept of time is completely different from ours. We can see the present and recall the past but we are clueless about the future. God on the other hand sees all of it clearly. The passage of time has no impact on him. If we follow our reckoning of time, we will fault God because of our impatience. We need to understand that he works in a different dimension.
Different Reasoning (v. 9). While we watch and wait for the Day of the Lord and wonder why it has not come, God is looking at the consequences of such a happening to the unbelieving. The day of judgment will be final. But God is merciful. He is ever desiring that the wicked will repent and escape the wrath that is coming. Whereas we may impatiently urge God to protect his honor and bring the circus of the mockers to an end, our gracious God gives the mockers yet another chance to repent.
But time will run out. It was 120 years for the people of Noah’s time. We have no timeline for our generation but time is running out and when the day of judgment is finally upon us, it will be too late to repent. The time to make peace with God is now.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.