“waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!” (v12).
I love movies with tension. Some folks call them thrillers. You know the ones I’m talking about, don't you? “Psycho.” “The Usual Suspects.” “Inception.” You watch and wait for the climax that you know is coming. You expect the confrontation between good and evil. It’s inevitable. You know it’s not a matter of if but when. It puts you on the edge of your seat. Our man Peter lets us know that the tension is building for Jesus’ big comeback. As followers of the resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter, we should expect it. We should live in suspense of when not if. Like a great thriller, we should be on the edge of our seat.
The apostle is talking about Christ’s Second Coming. The reason it’s important here is Pete’s warning about a posse of trash talking false teachers who’ve infiltrated local churches (2:1-3). Their message is a poison pill that’s tearing the church apart from the inside out. These con artists hope to make an easy buck off the body of Christ (2:3, 14-15). And if that’s not bad enough, they’re also sexual predators on the prowl (2:2, 10, 14, 18). From Rome, Rocky writes to let us know that Jesus will make sure these hucksters won’t get away with it. Christ is coming back. In a big way. He’s going to burn it down and blow it up (3:10-11). In the meantime, we’re to live lives that look different. We’re to live lives that point to Jesus.
An important part of living those “lives of holiness and godliness” (3:11) is living in the element of tension of His return. We should be “waiting and hastening the coming dray of God” (v12). Pete uses the Greek word prodokao, which means to expect, anticipate, and live in suspense. It includes an element of tension from either hope or fear. As believers, that would be hope. For those who give Jesus the Heisman, that would be fear. The term literally means to be forward looking. We need to get our eyes out of the rearview mirror and look out the windshield. Dr. Luke tells us that the Apostle Paul used that very same word when trying to encourage his shipmates to eat during a massive hurricane. “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense (Gr. prodokao) and without food, having taken nothing” (Acts 27:33). Jesus is coming back. We just don’t exactly when that’s going to happen. Pete says we really need to be on the edge of our seat.
We not only should expect that awesome day, the apostle tells us that we should be “hastening” for it to happen. This is the Greek verb speudo. It means everything from causing something happen sooner to being eager for it to happen. Here’s the deal. There’s really nothing we can do to speed up Jesus’ Second Coming. He’s coming back when He’s coming back. So the best translation here is focused on the idea that we’re excited for this to happen. That certainly makes sense. Just take a look around. It’s not hard to see that the world is falling apart at the seems. Taking a ride in a beautiful hand basket headed straight for hell. I don’t know about you, but I’m more than ready for Christ to come back. Yesterday would have worked for me. I’m certainly eager for Him to return. I’m on the edge of my seat.
A huge part of “waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God” (v12) is living with urgency. Am I telling folks about Jesus? Am I warning them of what’s ahead if they refuse to His offer? Does my expectation impact how I see those all around me? I need to always remember that my relationship with my Savior is no reason to get cocky. I’m just a beggar who’s figured out where to get the Bread. Let’s do everything we can to let our friends know that there’s an exciting story that’s unfolding. A thriller that’s got me on the edge of my seat.
