2 Peter 3:12
as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
Truth to Learn
We should be looking forward to the return of our Lord.
Behind the Words
“Look forward to” is translated from prosdokaō. This is a compound word made up of pros, meaning “unto or toward” and dokaō, which means “to expect or to wait for.”
The expression “speed its coming” is translated from the Greek word, speudō, which means, “to urge on or to hasten with respect to time.” It means that we anxiously desire that something should occur, and we would hasten it if we could.”
Meaning Explained
The scoffers mock us saying that the return of Christ and the Day of Judgment will never come. Actually, deep down inside, they know what they will get when He returns, and secretly they don’t want it to be true. We, on the other hand, should be eagerly looking forward to that day. Peter says that we should “look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.”
We should be like a child whose parents have told him that grandma and grandpa are coming, so the child looks out the window every five minutes and even goes out to the street and looks down the street both ways looking for the coming of his or her grandparents. That’s how we should be anticipating His return and we should be urging Him on, even as the Apostle John said in Revelation 22:20,
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Peter then reiterates what will occur as part of the Day of God, “That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt [be let loose] in the heat.” On this final day of God’s judgment the heavens (the entire universe) and the earth will be completely destroyed. This is also described by John in the book of Revelation when he describes the Great White Throne judgment:
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)
Application
Are you looking for and urging on the soon return of your Lord and Savior, or are you secretly in fear of the day?
Search your heart!
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2009 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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