In the military we had a saying you may have heard: hurry up and wait. That’s because the time when you’re required to show up for pretty much any activity is typically at least fifteen minutes before that activity is expected to start. Now, it’s quite easy to understand why things are done this way. In any complex operation there will be unexpected difficulties (often called “friction” by military planners), so extra time is added into the plan to allow for those difficulties. But it’s still annoying to arrive when you’re supposed to, and then have to wait. I don’t like waiting. Even when I understand the reason, it still feels like a waste of time.
I thought about this when I was reading in Revelation the other day. In chapter 10 John, the author, has a vision of a messenger from God coming to the earth:
Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion (Revelation 10:1-3).
John doesn’t describe this angel simply to impress us with God’s artistic ability. He’s making a deliberate comparison with an angel that had appeared centuries earlier to reveal God’s plans to the prophet Daniel (Daniel 10:4-6), and also with Jesus, who appeared in a similar form at the beginning of this book, to reveal “what is now and what will take place later” (Revelation 1:19).
Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” (Revelation 10:5-7).
In an earlier chapter, John described the throne room of God, where he saw a scroll that had been sealed with seven seals (Revelation 5:1). By this point in the book, however, the seals have been undone and the scroll that John now sees (whether it’s the same scroll or a different one is not clear) lies open in the angel’s hand. And now that it is open, there will be no more delay. Six angels have sounded trumpets. The seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, and “the mystery of God will be accomplished.” And yet, interestingly, the very next thing recorded in Revelation is not the blowing of the seventh trumpet. That doesn’t come until the middle of the next chapter. Before that occurs, John will be told to take the scroll from the angel’s hand and eat it, and then to measure the temple. After that comes a description of two witnesses who prophesy for 1,260 days. Only then does the seventh trumpet sound.
This is the point where a reader can start to become impatient. And I think that’s deliberate, because it parallels the impatience we can feel waiting for Christ to return. That impatience is understandable, even something of a good sign. Anyone who actively follows Jesus will begin to long for his coming (2 Timothy 4:8). And well we should! The accomplishment of “the mystery of God” means, for us, that our struggles are over. Justice will be established throughout the universe, and everyone who has been faithful will receive their reward. It’s the fulfillment of everything we’ve been working for; the proof that we have not labored in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). We should absolutely be longing for that.
Peter wrote about that day as well:
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
But the Holy Spirit, obviously, did not inspire Peter simply in order to satisfy our curiosity about the future; there is a point to this prophecy:
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him (2 Peter 3:10-14).
The heavens are going to be burned up, the earth will be laid bare, and after that, everything will be made new. Therefore, we ought to eagerly anticipate the day of the Lord and do all that we can to “speed its coming.” Hunh? What on earth does that mean? How can I affect the timing of God’s chosen day of judgment? The Greek word used here is speudō, and some English translations render this as “earnestly desiring” that day. Most of them, however, translate it the same way it appears here; that by living holy and godly lives, we can hurry the coming of that day. That’s an attention grabber. God’s perfect foreknowledge and sovereign plan, and my choice to obey or not, are somehow interacting here. So while I’m longing for Christ to return, I should also be asking myself what I’m doing to prepare both myself and the world around me for his coming.
In light of this passage, it seems like it should be a good thing for me to continually ask myself, “am I, right now, doing what I would want to be found doing when Christ comes?” And yet, there’s no sense of fear or guilt in Peter’s words, only an eager longing. An expectation of joyfully welcoming the fulfillment of the kingdom of God.
But there is another side to this. For those people who are still bent on rebellion, the accomplishment of the “mystery of God” that the angel of Revelation announces will unleash horror worse than any nightmare they have ever experienced. Those who continue to side with the devil in his war against God will, in the end, share his fate. It’s for those people, some of whom might still repent, that God delays. John’s use of pauses and interludes to build up tension throughout the book of Revelation illustrates, in a dramatic way, God’s patience. But we’re also reminded that, unlike his power and his knowledge, God’s patience is not infinite. It can’t be, because if God, in the end, does not finally establish justice, then he is not good.
Nevertheless, his patience is incredibly great:
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:8-9).
The passage of time means nothing to the one who created time. God delays in bringing judgment because he is merciful, but the end is nevertheless certain. Just as the world had a beginning, so it also has an end. And there are those who despise God’s patience, taking advantage of the delay to sin even more, and thereby bring about their own destruction. Sadly, many of them, deep down, know what they’re doing; their ignorance is willful, not innocent. As Peter himself wrote just a few verses earlier:
But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water (2 Peter 3:5).
What Peter says in this passage about God’s view of time is quoted from Psalm 90:
You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death – they
are like the new grass of the morning:
In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.
(Psalm 90:3-6).
Interestingly, the topic of that psalm is not the day of the Lord, but rather the shortness of human life. God, who is eternal, watches us be born, grow old, and die overnight. Peter uses this passage in the context of Christ’s return to talk about God’s patience, but at the same time it shows even more fully the foolishness of those who abuse God’s patience. Even if they really are unaware of the coming end of this present age, they certainly know that their end is coming. None of us is immortal; our lives pass in the blink of an eye. Nobody, except for very small children, is unaware of this. Only a great fool, therefore, would fail to consider the shortness of his life in considering how he should act. Tragically, however, humanity is a race of fools.
There is no hint here of either Peter or John gloating over the fate of those who will be destroyed. Peter has already stated that God does not wish for any to perish. The delay in Christ’s coming is due to his mercy. But there is, I think, a reminder that even as I rejoice in the hope of Jesus’ coming and do what I can to prepare, I should also rejoice in his delay, because it means salvation for yet more people (2 Peter 3:15). Thus, whether Jesus comes today or not, I have a reason to rejoice.
What I do day by day, even hour by hour, should be informed by the knowledge that the Day of the Lord will come, and will take by surprise those who are not prepared. And yet, whether it comes today or does not come today, I have grounds to rejoice. So, although having to wait is frustrating, it is also a good thing. We should rejoice in the hope of Christ’s coming, and also rejoice every day until that time, that he has given his enemies, of whom I used to be one, one more day to repent.