2 Pet. 3:3-4, “…knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” There are far too many people today who do exactly as Peter described above. They are “scoffers” who follow their own sinful desires mainly because they believe they have time. These people are also mentioned in Jude 1:18, “…In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” In a worldly sense, scoffers are people who laugh and speak about a person or an idea in a way that shows they think the object of their ridicule is stupid or silly.
When it comes to spiritual matters, scoffers are those who mock God and deny the authentic message of the scriptures. During the reign of Zedekiah, the people of Jerusalem turned from the Almighty and mocked Him, but as is always the case, there is a price to pay for disobedience. 2 Chr. 36:14-16, “All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the Lord that he had made holy in Jerusalem. 15. The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.”
Peter also mentions that these scoffers follow their sinful desires, which is often the motivation for their actions. They have two choices before them: either deny the coming of the Lord so they can continue in their sin or admit that it could happen at any time and have to change their ways. Now, what they do is between them and the Lord, but many are not silent and openly ridicule the scriptures – especially those that speak of the return of Christ. I know someone personally who has said the following to me, “I do not believe Jesus will come in our time. There is no indication that it will be at any time in the foreseeable future. Nostradamus himself predicts it will happen more than 1000 years from now.” To be honest, I did not even know where to begin.
I wanted to get to the scriptures that clearly testify that while we do not know when the Lord will return, He will surely do so. One of the scriptures that speak of that is Acts 1:11, “…and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.'” But before delving into the scriptures, I needed to address a delusion. Nowhere in the Bible does it say anything about anyone predicting the “return date” of the Savior. No mention of Nostradamus, Hal Lindsey, Harold Camping, or any other “prophet.” We have absolutely no indication of when the glorious day of His triumphant return will be. 1 The. 5:1-2, “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
What a waste of time to spend unnecessary energy on scoffing when the scriptures are crystal clear that He could return before you have finished reading this article. But, as we have already discovered, their mocking attitude is born from their sinful desires, so there is almost no changing their hearts – at least not without much prayer, patience, and willingness on their part. They need to realize that they can scoff all they want, but it won’t change the facts. “Where is the promise of His coming?” It is in every word of every sentence of every paragraph of every chapter of every book in the Bible – from cover to cover. Do you know what scoffers never do? Apparently, they never read the Word of God.
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