Image: "Idyllic Place" (Acadia), 2009, Vicinity of Acadia Nat. Pk., Me
2 Peter 3:4–5 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
2 Peter 3:8–9 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:11–13 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
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When the 16th-century explorer Verrazzano, serving the King of France, arrived off the coast of present-day Labrador/Newfoundland, he encountered scenes of majestic beauty. He reached back into his classical education and brought forth a Greek word, "Arcadia", to name and describe what he saw. The word means "place of enjoyment" or "idyllic place." Over the years, the "r" was dropped and the name Acadia now designates the region and, in my opinion, it is well named.
It's a common feature of all human history that mankind yearns for such a place, a habitation, where surrounded by beauty it may live in peace. Various "utopias" have historically occupied the thoughts of philosophers and virtually all religions hold out hope for some future physical or spiritual reality. Even so-called Darwinists often see crass, godless evolution as proceeding toward a future perfection of mankind such that perfection of his environment may follow.
Only the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has definitively and authoritatively proclaimed that such a yearning will be satisfied in His time and purposes. It has been the foundation on which human history was to develop ever since Adam was cast out of Eden. Man must have hope in order to live according to hope and that is exactly what God commands. He has given great and good promises and it is His intention and command that those promises motivate us to serve Him in "peace, without spot and blameless". (vs. 14) This eschatological yearning is intended to be vibrant, sincere, and productive. It is not to be equated with some bare theological doctrine to which complacent intellectual assent is given. That is not "hope." God intends for His people to live with the abiding conviction that they have "something to look forward to" and to that end, He has ordained that they do.
But, as far as man-measured time goes, it has been a long while since Adam sadly passed out of Eden. The promise has remained, in various forms, and man's sinful nature, under Satan's constant harping, has come to complacently discount the promises. Scoffers sneer "where is the promise of His coming?" (vs. 3,4) They contemptuously dismiss the fact that "one day is as a thousand years" with the God who lives in timeless reality. (vs. 8) The simple explanation is that the promise must tarry until God's purposes in creation are attained. It is His purpose to have particular people, a specific community, who will be ushered into this coming "Arcadia" and who will live with Him in blessed communion forever. It is not His will that any one of those for whom He has wrought creation out of nothing to house, be "lost." (vs. 9) That means they must all be born, they must come to faith, and they must embrace the promise before the consummation arrives.
It is readily apparent that this explains human history. "History" is the unfolding story of a sanctified race being brought into existence. That "race" is the reason for history. It is God's purpose in all things. It was for this "race" that the world was created. (vs. 5) It was for this "race" that God guided the remnant of Adam and Noah and Abraham and Moses through their various stages in order to have the promise carried forward in integrity and truth. It was for this "race" that God sent His Son, our Christ, to purify them unto the promise given them. It is for this "race" that our present "age" is harvesting the entire world and gathering those who God has set aside for Himself from every tribe and region.
At the bottom of all things is "hope". The hope of something good coming. The assured hope that is far more than wishful thinking. This hope will be fulfilled in a final act of purification when all of those whose lives on this earth were not directed toward that hope, will be eliminated. This world is preserved and reserved for a day when godly men will see their hope fulfilled and ungodly men will face perdition. (vs. 7) That is part of the promise also and Christians wouldn't want it any other way. The "Acadia" that is coming will be characterized by justice and mercy by our God who lives in glorious justice and mercy.
We most certainly do have something to look forward to and we should let that hope penetrate through our whole person and live according to it. This is Peter's message.
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