2 Peter 3: The Day of the Lord Will Come Like a Thief

Introduction

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up." (2 Peter 3:10). In this message from his series on Peter's second letter, William Philip, pastor of The Tron Church in Glasgow, stays on this one verse.

He puts it plainly: if this verse is false, then everything in the Christian faith is false. If it is true, it may be the most important warning you will ever receive from the mouth of God himself. "So we had better take it seriously, hadn't we?"

The preacher asks two questions. What will the day of the Lord mean when it comes? And what does the certainty of that day mean for us, right now? The first answer is a total revelation. The second is a call to be ready, immediately.

Message Outline

1. A Letter for Ordinary Christians, in the Midst of Scoffers

From the very first verse, the letter is addressed to ordinary Christians, not to leaders. They are living through difficult days: a hostile world outside, and influences unsettling the churches from within.
Influential figures, preachers, "the influencers of the day," secretly bring in "destructive heresies" (2 Peter 2:1). They twist the Scriptures and lead others away in the error of the wicked (2 Peter 3:16-17). Peter does not speak of "new perspectives" on the Bible: he is very direct.
These scoffers walk after their own lusts (2 Peter 3:3) and deny two things: the authority of the Word of God ("Where is the promise of his coming?", verse 4) and the reality of God's judgment (verses 5 to 7).
Their message boils down to approval: live as you see fit, there is no God who will judge. The pastor compares this to a teacher who would tell his class: "There is no exam, no end-of-term test. You decide for yourselves."
He sees this in what is happening today in churches that celebrate lifestyles, particularly in matters of sexuality, that run contrary to what the Bible teaches about marriage. Peter's answer: do not lose sight of the facts, remember the words of the Lord passed on by the apostles (2 Peter 3:2).

2. The Day When Everything Will Be Laid Bare

God is not slow, he is patient: he does not want anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Do not underestimate his mercy. But do not underestimate his judgment either: when that day comes, there will be no escape.
The image is that of a fire that devours everything. The pastor mentions those great bushfires: you watch them from a distance, then the wind changes and the fire comes roaring toward you. "It is a terrifying image. It is meant to be."
This is the language of the prophets about the day of the Lord. It is vivid, like the account of creation, because the re-creation of new heavens and a new earth is beyond our understanding. But that does not mean it is not real. No reduction in carbon dioxide will stop it.
The "elements," he says, most likely refer to fallen spiritual powers, since Paul uses the same terms in Colossians 2 for evil spiritual beings. But we should not dwell on the mechanism so long that we miss Peter's great point.
That great point: the earth and its works will be laid bare (where this translation says "will be burned up," the English version the preacher read says "exposed," and he also mentions the renderings "found" and "laid bare"), exposed to the full gaze of God. If God can lay bare the whole creation, will he not lay bare the truth of every human being and of their works?
It will be the opposite of a Yes Minister commission of inquiry, set up to bury a matter forever. "Imagine that on these screens there now appeared the video of every one of your thoughts and actions from last week. It is a dreadful thought, isn't it? For me, certainly."

3. No One Spoke of Judgment More Than Jesus

People say that Jesus spoke only of unconditional love and rejected no one. "That is simply not true." In the whole Bible, no one speaks more often or more solemnly about judgment and hell than the Lord Jesus.
The pastor walks through the Gospel of Matthew. John the Baptist announces the one who will baptize with fire and burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:11-12). Jesus begins his preaching with: "Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17).
The Sermon on the Mount speaks of love, yes, but also of false prophets, of the tree that does not bear good fruit and is thrown into the fire, and of the house built on the sand (Matthew 7:15-27).
Then come the weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12), Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:15; 11:23-24), the sin against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:32), the weeds thrown into the fiery furnace (Matthew 13:41-42), the hand or the eye that it is better to lose than to be thrown into the eternal fire (Matthew 18:8-9).
Finally, the sheep and the goats: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire" (Matthew 25:41). The criterion is the response to the person of Jesus, shown by love even toward the least of his brothers, those who do the will of his Father (Matthew 12:50).
"The fire, the fire: it is Jesus who talks about it all the time, not me." This is the real Jesus, not an imaginary one. And this is what Peter passes on here: "there is nothing hidden that will not be known" (Matthew 10:26).

4. The Fire That Separates Pure Metal from Waste

Fire tests faith (1 Peter 1:7). The fire will test what sort of work each one has done, and the day will declare it (1 Corinthians 3:13). It reveals whether we have obeyed the true gospel, or whether we have deceived ourselves and are, deep down, a scoffer.
At eleven years old, in 1978, William Philip visited a huge open-pit copper mine in Zambia, in the Copperbelt region, with his family, during a visit to friends who were teaching at a Bible school in Kitwe, and then a smelter. The ore is thrown into a gigantic furnace. Pure molten copper comes out, and the worthless rock is dumped onto slag heaps.
That is the day Peter describes: a day of fire that tests, that divides, and that shows what is true. A day of total revelation.

5. Like a Thief: Sudden, Not Secret

"Like a thief" does not mean silently or secretly, but suddenly. Paul uses the same expression: "When they are saying, 'Peace and safety,' then sudden destruction will come on them" (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3).
Peter and Paul pass on the words of Jesus: "Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don't expect, the Son of Man will come" (Matthew 24:43-44).
When he arrived in Glasgow a little over twenty years ago, the pastor never imagined he would be burgled. Less than three months later, a thief came through in the night. He installed alarms and a few precautions. Three months after that, it happened again. "Modest precautions are not enough when the thief comes suddenly."
How many warnings do we need? God wants all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). But for all his patience, the day will come. Make sure you come to repentance in time.

6. The Church's Task: Getting Ready and Getting Others Ready

First consequence: the main task of the Church is to prepare itself and to prepare others for this day. Peter says so at Cornelius' house: Jesus "commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that this is he who is appointed by God as the Judge of the living and the dead" (Acts 10:42), and everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name (Acts 10:43).
A teacher's first task is to prepare students for their final exams. A driving instructor can chat and practice U-turns, but the goal remains passing the test. If the Church forgets its task, all is lost.
Second consequence: the Church can never be presumptuous. Just as God has judged in the past, there will be foreshadowings of the final judgment in history. Jesus judges churches that have fallen asleep and those that become scoffers.
To the church in Sardis he says: "If therefore you won't watch, I will come as a thief, and you won't know what hour I will come upon you" (Revelation 3:3). None of the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3 has survived.
The pastor sees the national church of his country disappearing rapidly. This is the time when judgment is about to begin at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). We too must remain humble and not twist the Scriptures to believe what suits us.

7. And You, Are You Ready?

Third consequence: a warning for each person. If the Lord delays, he will come for each one of us: "it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).
The preacher quotes a poem his father liked to recite. The Spirit knocks at the door in childhood, in youth, in mature years, and each time he is turned away: "not today," "no time." Old and sick, the man still says to him: "Go away; when I need you, I will send for you." And he dies without hope.
J.C. Ryle writes that it is not open dislike of the gospel we should fear, but that spirit which puts things off and always finds a reason not to serve Christ today. "Unbelief kills its thousands, no doubt, but convenient, plausible, honeyed excuses kill their tens of thousands."
"Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his clothes, so that he doesn't walk naked, and they see his shame!" (Revelation 16:15).
If you despise the offer of salvation through repentance in Jesus Christ, you too will be laid bare before the wrath of the Lamb. "Do not be a scoffer. Submit to the Savior now, today."

Key Takeaways

The day of the Lord will come: there is no truth more certain in the Bible, and it demolishes every claim of the scoffers.
That day will be a total revelation: the earth and the works that are in it will be laid bare before God.
No one in the Bible spoke of judgment more often or more solemnly than Jesus himself.
"Like a thief" means suddenly: we must be ready now and every day.
The Church's first task is to proclaim that Jesus is the Judge who is coming and that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins.

Personal Application

If your thoughts and actions from last week appeared on a screen, what would make you ashamed? What do you need to bring to God in repentance?
Does your picture of Jesus match the Jesus of the Gospels, or the one you would prefer him to be?
Is there an invitation from God to which you are still answering "not today"?
In your church, what distracts from the main task: preparing everyone for the day of the Lord?
Who around you needs to hear that the Judge who is coming is also the one who forgives?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "the day of the Lord will come as a thief" mean?

For William Philip, the image does not mean that this day will come silently or secretly, but suddenly. Paul uses the same expression in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, and both Peter and Paul pass on the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:43-44: be ready, for the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Why does 2 Peter 3:10 speak of fire?

Throughout Scripture, fire is the symbol of God's judgment. Peter takes up the language of the prophets about the day of the Lord. It is vivid language, but it describes a reality: the earth and the works that are in it will be laid bare. As in a smelter's furnace, the fire separates pure metal from waste.

How can I be ready for the day of the Lord?

The preacher relies on Acts 10:42-43: Jesus has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead, and everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Being ready means coming to repentance now, without putting it off, and submitting to the Savior today.