We should read these verses according to their genre (apocalyptic eschatology), appreciating that Peter is a Jewish Christian who has been shaped by apocalyptic visionaries throughout the centuries. Hit Play Again-What’s Taking Jesus SO Long? That said, how should we understand Peter’s argument in verses 8-9? It’s hard to believe that Peter, writing as a thoroughly Jewish Christian, was unaware of this material while simultaneously using Psalm 90:4 in the same manner. Clearly, there’s Jewish precedence for a reading of Psalm 90:4 in its original sense during Peter’s day. In the Apocalypse of Baruch, a contemporary of Peter reflects on Psalm 90:4, contrasting God’s eternal existence with man’s brief span of life. They don’t understand Peter to be utilizing any resources from contemporary Jewish or Christian literature. The second school acknowledges that verse 8 is indeed Peter’s answer to the problem of the delay raised by the scoffers in verses 1-7, but they hold that his use of Psalm 90:4 is a novel idea produced in an ad hoc kind of way to meet the urgent issue raised by the false teachers. The whole chapter is built around refuting scoffers who deny the Lord’s coming, so why would Peter turn aside from his central argument to give one line of chronological data about how long the day of judgment would last? It just doesn’t add up. Interpreted this way, verse 8 is speaking to chronological data (the day of judgment will last a thousand years), not to the delay of Jesus’ return.īut this doesn’t work in light of the context of 2 Peter 3.
One school says you have to interpret the verse in light of parallels in contemporary Jewish and Christian literature, following a chronological formulation where a “day” means a thousand years in human terms. (Note: I’m following Richard Bauckham’s excellent work done on 2 Peter here.) Without boring you, I’ll briefly share two prevailing views in order to reject both for a more balanced, biblical alternative, which I think better helps us to understand the meaning of the delay.
#I WILL HASTEN TO HIM HOW TO#
What’s taking Jesus so long to return and right all wrongs?Īt this point, we need to pause because there’s differing schools of thought on how to understand Peter’s logic in verse 8 (“one day is as a thousand years”).
We can’t help but wrestle with the same question. High rise moguls get rich while the assaulted are shunned. The innocent are oppressed while the wicked prosper. There’s brokenness and pain and suffering. There’s violence and mass shootings and terror. This very real, felt question isn’t limited to first-century believers. Why did Jesus delay when such palpable evil was ruling the day? The question initially raised by the corrupt leaders would have become inescapable in the minds of these persecuted Christians. After all, they were living through the first wave of organized persecution against Christians during the reign of Nero, a wicked Roman emperor. The false teachers needed to be silenced, but the young churches also needed to be shepherded through the delay. The allegation that the delay of Jesus disapproves the expectation of his return demands a response. Let’s just say, Peter: 1, False Teachers: 0.īut Peter doesn’t stop there. 9-10)? Moreover, their knowledge of the gospel will actually make them more culpable on the final day of judgment (which, by the way, is coming!). 2:4-8), then (B) how much more so will he bring certain judgment on false teachers who claim to be Christians but reject the truth (2 Pet. If (A) God did not spare the fallen angels, the ancient civilization in Noah’s day, or Sodom and Gomorrah (2 Pet. Using that formula, he pulls from notorious events in biblical history to knock it out of the park. It goes like this: if A is true, how much more so is B true also. To make his case he follows a rabbinic formula of proof, which moves from a minor to a major premise. He condemns them in chapter two, reminding his readers of God’s certain judgment on wickedness. It was a classic “have your cake and eat it too” scenario.
They could reject biblical authority, get rich quick by teaching a false message of Christian “freedom,” and have lots of casual sex all without fear of accountability or judgment. Their combined skepticism of Jesus’ return with their love of sin without consequences was all too convenient. Then, in chapters two and three, he pivots towards the corrupt teachers who were denying the return of Jesus and final judgment in order to justify their immoral behavior. In chapter one, Peter challenges believers to never stop growing in godliness and Christ-like qualities.
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