When will Jesus come again? What will be the signs of His coming? These are the questions Jesus’ disciples asked Him (Mark 13:4), and subsequent generations have continued to share their interest. Year after year, books have been written, breathlessly recounting the author’s certainty that, all prior predictions to the contrary, the signs are all now pointing to Christ’s imminent return. And of course, most of those books can now be found in the bargain bin, as all of their predictions have turned out to be just as mistaken as the prophecies that came before them.

But that doesn’t mean we should fall into the error of verses 3 and 4, poo-pooing the very notion of Judgment Day, and living however we want to. Just because Jesus hasn’t yet returned doesn’t mean He isn’t coming.

In fact, Peter reminds us that God has already judged the world once, destroying man and all his works with a great flood in the days of Noah (vv. 5-6). Every time it rains, we should thus be reminded that God is serious about cleansing the world of sin, just as every time we see a rainbow we should be thankful that He continues to withhold His judgment – at least for now.

But how long will we have to wait? In verse 9, Peter reminds us that God doesn’t experience time the same way that we do. He created time, and so He stands outside it – in a very real sense, all time is present to God. From His perspective, Judgment Day is the next significant historical event, so all of us who live after the Resurrection of Christ are in fact living in the last days – even though those days have now stretched out to about 2000 years.

So, what do we need to know about the coming of Christ? Frankly, the specific signs and the particular date should be the last things on our mind. There’s just no way to predict something that will happen as swiftly and, from the sinful world’s perspective, as unexpectedly as the coming of a thief in the night (v. 10). Instead, we should be focused on the certainty of Christ’s coming and the devastation that He will bring on all wickedness at that time (vv. 7, 10). And that means we should urge one another to repent so that we won’t perish in the coming fire (v. 9).

So, the important question for us is this: whenever Christ decides to return and bring an end to all the sin in the world, will we be ready?

II Peter 3:3-10 (NAS)

3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,
4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”
5 For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water,
6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.
7 But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.