This is Spoken Gospel.

We’re dedicated to seeing
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see
what’s happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

Peter is wrapping up his second letter
and wants his people to remember that

Jesus is coming soon, and so
encourages them to live godly lives.

But this reminder is unpopular
among a group of false teachers.

They’re skeptical that Jesus will come again and are
unconvinced that there’s any need to curb their desires.

The false teachers have two arguments.

First, since the creation of the world God has
failed to intervene in human history and judge evil.

That prophesied day of judgment for our moral evil has
never come, and so how we behave must not matter to God.

But Peter says that these false teachers are ignoring
the facts. God has intervened in human history.

God pulled the land up out of the
primordial waters with a simple word.

And with another word he sank the land under
a flood in response to humanity’s corruption.

These false teachers don’t know their Scripture
very well, a point he’ll bring up again later.

God has always been intimately involved in human
history and his word still waits to judge the earth.

And the false teachers’ second argument
is that God is late.

Jesus said he would come back soon, but he hasn’t.

Peter points out that an immortal
God does not operate on our time scale.

“Soon” to him can be very
different from what it means for us.

And besides, God is not late, he's patient.

God doesn’t want anyone to
die or experience his judgment.

God’s long delay isn’t proof he doesn’t care about us, but proof
that he's merciful towards people who take a long time to repent.

God’s lateness is actually his patience.

And for those who doubt God’s timing,
God’s patience is our only hope of salvation.

[music]

We know Jesus is coming soon.

And on that day evil and sin will melt and dissolve.

Soon all that will be left
is what’s good and just.

We should live, then, like
eternal goodness is coming soon.

We should live lives that are marked by the
justice and moral virtue that will endure forever.

And we should be careful of teachers who make us doubt
Jesus’ coming judgment or the clarity of his moral commands.

God cares how we live. And for those who know Jesus is
coming soon, we also know it won’t be a
day of judgment for us, but of hope.

God is coming, not just to judge but to establish a new
world of righteousness, moral perfection, and peace.

God is patiently waiting, not because he’s
indifferent but because he wants everyone to repent.

God desires that all people enter his new world where the
evil and trauma inflicted by the lusts of others doesn’t exist.

God is coming “soon” so that all who
experience the toll of sin’s slavery and call to him

might repent and find freedom
in a coming cosmos made new.

Peter's point is that God has made and judged once
before, and he will judge and make new once again.

So, do not discount God’s slowness in human history
as disinterest. Count God’s patience as salvation.

Count God’s current delay
as an invitation for all people.

There is an eternal Kingdom coming
of grace, power, goodness, and beauty.

A day is coming where we will all be freed from
the unrighteousness and evil we inflict on others.

And that day is coming soon
for all who look forward to it.

May the Holy Spirit open your eyes to see
the God who has made and judged the earth.

And may you see Jesus as the one who is coming to judge
evil and establish a new earth of righteousness for all people.