Please turn to 2 Peter, chapter 1. We will read verses 1 and 2, and then verse 16.
Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
For He received from God the Father honor and glory, when there was borne such a voice to Him by the Majestic Glory, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased:
And this voice we ourselves heard borne out of heaven, when we were with Him in the holy mount.
And we have the word of prophecy made more sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts.
Now turn to 2 Peter 3:12, the first part:
Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.
In the Chinese translation, it says that we earnestly wait for the day of God. But in the original language, and in many English translations, we find that the Chinese translation has translated only half of the meaning. It has translated the earnest waiting, but it has missed the hastening.
So we would like to read it once again according to the original meaning: “Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.”
Brothers and sisters, we know that several New Testament books are especially related to the last days—for example, 2 Timothy, Hebrews, 2 Peter, Jude, and Revelation.
In this series of conferences, we have mentioned 2 Timothy and the book of Hebrews. By the grace of the Lord, this time we will share together from 2 Peter.
The central thought of 2 Peter is found in 2 Peter 3:12: to earnestly look for, or wait for, and also to hasten the coming of the day of God.
We know that Peter wrote two letters: 1 Peter and 2 Peter. When he wrote the second letter, he told us that he knew the day of his departure was near.
Before leaving the world, he desired to use diligence to remind the brothers and sisters. We can say that this was Peter’s heart in words—his last will.
He shared with his dear brothers and sisters the matter that touched his heart most deeply. Peter faithfully followed the Lord throughout his life. Although sometimes he failed, we see that he always had an attachment to the Lord.
The trust that he received from God was especially related to the kingdom of God. Therefore, in this last letter, he wanted to remind the brothers and sisters to see the kingdom of God, so that they might enter it richly and become a people who wait for and hasten the coming of the day of God.
We remember that the Lord once said to Peter:
When once thou hast turned again, establish thy brethren.
According to this trust from the Lord, Peter desired to strengthen his brothers. This was the heart of Peter when he wrote this letter.
Peter wrote this letter to those who believe in the Lord Jesus, who have obtained righteousness and also this precious faith.
If we read 1 Peter, we find that he wrote to the sojourners of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia—those who were elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
These were Jewish believers who had been dispersed to various places. They had been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God; they were sanctified by the Spirit; they were obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ; and they had been sprinkled with His blood.
Now they had also obtained the same precious faith because they had relied upon the Lord Jesus.
We know that the whole Bible is for us. Although Peter originally wrote these letters to Jewish believers who had been dispersed into various places, these two letters were also written to us according to their spiritual meaning.
We too are sojourners dispersed in various places, because our home is not here. Because we believe in the Lord, while we are on this earth, we are sojourners and foreigners.
God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. The Holy Spirit sanctified us and separated us unto God. Not only have we believed in the Lord Jesus, but we are obedient to Him, and we have been sprinkled by the blood of the Lord Jesus. We too have obtained the same precious faith.
Therefore, we know that these two letters were written to us. When we read 2 Peter, we must see that this letter is written to us. Every word is spoken to us.
If we have this heart and attitude when we read 2 Peter, I believe that we can receive God’s own word from Him.
When Peter wrote this letter, he knew that the time for him to depart from the earth was near, because the Lord had previously revealed it to him.
Today, we may not have received such grace. The Lord has not told us that it is time for us to leave. But there is one thing the Lord has told us: although He has not told us when we will depart, He has told us that He is coming.
When we consider that the day of our Lord’s return is so near, how should we prepare ourselves before God so that we may be joyful and at peace when we see Him?
How should we be used by God in these days, so that in these last days we may not only wait for Him but also hasten His coming?
Peter tells us that we must earnestly look for, wait for, and also hasten the coming of the day of God.
The term the day of God is used only once in the New Testament.
In the New Testament, we read of the day of Christ, the day of Jesus Christ, and the day of the Lord—which is equivalent to the day of the Lord in the Old Testament. But the term the day of God is used only once in the New Testament.
The day of Christ, or the day of Jesus Christ, has special meaning for the church, because it refers to His second coming, when we will all be gathered together before His throne.
All believers, as one great family, will meet the Lord. That is the day for which we hope, long, and wait. Today, though we have not seen Him, we love Him. We long for the day when we can see Him with our own eyes.
This is the day of Christ. It is the day when we shall be glorified, but it is also the day when we shall be judged before the judgment seat of Christ.
The day of the Lord, on the other hand, especially concerns the world. It refers to the day when the Lord comes to judge the world and bring the age to its conclusion.
But what does the day of God refer to? If we look at the context of 2 Peter 3:12, it appears that the day of God includes both the day of Christ and the day of the Lord.
This shows us that when the Lord comes, we meet Him. From that time until the world is judged, the millennium is brought in. At the end, the old heavens and the old earth will perish; then there will be new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
The day of God includes all these things.
Dear brothers and sisters, we may say that today is the day of man, because people on earth do whatever they wish to do. This day belongs to man.
But we know that the day of man is about to end. In Genesis 6, the Lord told Noah that the days of man would be one hundred and twenty years. Because man had become thoroughly corrupt, the patience of God would eventually give way to judgment.
Likewise, brothers and sisters, we know that the day of man is about to close because the day of God is coming. This is a day for which we earnestly wait.
Not only are we waiting, but we also hasten the coming of that day. If we truly love our Lord, we cannot merely wait passively for Him. We must rise up positively to hasten His coming.
This is not only our duty; it is our privilege. Think of the grace given to us who have been saved: we may hasten the coming of the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, we are in the last days. We truly hope that God will give us mercy, that on the one hand we may wait, and on the other hand we may hasten.
How do we know that the kingdom of God is at hand? In the thoughts of men, there is an ideal: they hope that someday a unified and good world will come, that a utopia or golden age will come to the earth.
But we know that this is only man’s ideal. It is like a castle in the air. It will never become reality. This is man’s dream.
But in the Word of God, we see that there truly is a kingdom of God, and it is coming. When the kingdom of God comes, righteousness dwells in it.
The special trust that Peter received from God concerned this kingdom. Peter was an apostle of hope. He was hoping for the coming of the kingdom of God.
He tells us that when he spoke about the kingdom of God, he was not following fables. It was not merely an ideal of man. When he shared the kingdom of God with us, it was well founded.
First, it was according to his own experience. He said, in effect, “I am an eyewitness of the arrival of the kingdom of God.”
Of course, Peter was referring to the day when the Lord brought three disciples up to the Mount of Transfiguration.
Our Lord came into this world. Philippians 2 tells us that, although He was equal with God, He did not regard equality with God as a thing to be grasped, because He is God. All the fullness of God dwells in Him bodily.
But He emptied Himself. Of course, He could not empty Himself of His deity, because He is forever God. Yet He laid aside the visible expression of His glory, honor, power, and majesty.
He came to this earth as a humble man. He was born in a manger. He grew up in Nazareth. According to men, He was the son of a carpenter, and He learned the skill of carpentry.
When He came out to preach at the age of thirty, He said that He had no place to lay His head. The prophet Isaiah said that He had no comeliness that men should desire Him.
Although He went everywhere doing good, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and revealing His Father to men, men rejected Him. Throughout His life, He hid His glory within Himself.
But there was one occasion in His life when He brought three disciples onto the mountain to pray. The glory within Him shone forth from His body. At that time, He expressed His glory.
Even Moses and Elijah appeared in His glory. What kind of glory was this?
Three of the four Gospel accounts mention this matter. In Matthew 16, at the end of the chapter, the Lord said that some standing there would not taste of death until they saw the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.
Mark 9 says that some would see the kingdom of God come with power. Luke 9 also identifies this scene with the kingdom of God.
Thus, the event on the Mount of Transfiguration was a preview of the kingdom of God. Men are constrained by time, but God is not restricted by time. In God’s view, the kingdom of God is already there.
God showed the glory of the kingdom beforehand to these three disciples. The scene on the Mount of Transfiguration was an anticipation of the arrival of the kingdom of God.
Moses and Elijah appeared with the Lord Jesus and spoke with Him. What did they speak about? They spoke about the departure of the Lord Jesus.
We know that the Lord Jesus came to this earth by becoming flesh. Now they spoke of how He would depart from this earth.
According to the more than thirty years of the Lord Jesus’ life on earth, He could have gone from the Mount of Transfiguration directly to heaven. But if that had happened, there would have been only one Man in heaven, even unto eternity.
We thank God that when the Lord Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah about His departure, He was not speaking about leaving from the Mount of Transfiguration. He would depart by way of Calvary.
He would die for us on the cross, finish His work of redemption, and then depart.
The kingdom of God rests upon the departure of the Lord Jesus—not only upon His coming to this earth, but also upon His departure from this world through the cross of Calvary.
In the glory of the kingdom, God said:
This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.
What is the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God is not Moses, Elijah, or Peter. It is Jesus alone.
The kingdom of God is not hearing the voice of Moses or Elijah. It is not hearing the voice of Peter. It is hearing Him. This is the essence of the kingdom of God, and this is the glory of the Lord Jesus.
Peter said, “We were on that mountain. We saw, and we heard.” Brothers and sisters, this was Peter’s personal experience.
But Peter said that besides his personal witness, there was also the more sure word of prophecy, like a bright lamp shining in a dark place.
Peter shows us that personal experience alone is not enough. There must also be the Word of God. On the one hand, there is experience; on the other hand, there is truth.
On the one hand, Peter saw with his own eyes and heard with his own ears. On the other hand, there was the prophetic word made more sure.
When we consider the coming kingdom of God, we need both these aspects. Last night, our brother mentioned that about one quarter of the Bible concerns prophecy.
The majority of prophecy has already been fulfilled, and only a portion remains to be fulfilled. We know that the word of prophecy is very accurate, because holy men spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
The prophecies of the Bible show us that the kingdom of God is about to come. Many things testify that the day is near.
Peter tells us that we must take heed to the word of prophecy. Have we paid attention to the prophetic word in the Bible?
What does it mean to take heed? Does it simply mean that we study and analyze biblical prophecy, look for events about to happen on earth, arrange those events in order, and try to match each event with a particular prophecy?
Then, after comparing one thing with another, we may conclude, “Ah, it is about time.” Is this what Peter means by taking heed?
Today there are people who study prophecy in this way. I remember when I first believed in the Lord, I was particularly interested in prophecy. I believe young people are often interested in prophecy because they want to know what will happen in the future.
I spent much time studying prophecy. I thought that if I studied it sufficiently, I could arrange everything in a line. But did I have a heart to wait for the Lord?
Many people have become experts in the words of prophecy, but they are not waiting for or hastening the coming of the day of God. Is this what Peter calls taking heed?
Peter says that we must take heed to the prophetic word until the day dawn and the morning star arises in our hearts.
We know that the morning star appears before the sun rises. If you cannot sleep at night and rise very early, before the sun rises you may see a very bright star in the sky.
Those who sleep late and rise late will never see the morning star. Here Peter says that we must take heed to the prophetic word until the morning star arises.
What does this morning star refer to? If we read Revelation 22, we know that the Lord Jesus is the bright morning star.
He is not only the Sun of righteousness; He is also the bright morning star. The world will see the Lord Jesus as the Sun of righteousness, but the morning star appears before that.
One day, those who diligently wait for the Lord will see the morning star. They will be raptured to the Lord, while others are still sleeping and do not know that the Lord has come, because He comes as a thief.
Only those who keep awake will see Him. But here the morning star does not refer merely to that outward event.
Peter says that the morning star shall arise in your hearts. Brothers and sisters, we must read the prophetic word until the morning star rises in our hearts.
In other words, we must read the prophetic word until we touch the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19 tells us that the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus.
When we touch the spirit of prophecy, the testimony of Jesus arises within us. We do not merely see that this or that event will come. Behind all these matters, we see the Lord Himself, and He attracts our hearts.
The morning star is exceedingly beautiful. The light of that star is so pure. We should read the prophetic word until the beauty of our Lord attracts our hearts.
Then we cry, “Lord, come. We are waiting for You, Lord. Lord, we want You to come soon. No matter what price must be paid, it cannot be compared with this.”
Brothers and sisters, when we read these prophetic words, there should be a longing in our hearts to see our Lord. This is good.
We thank and praise the Lord. We know that the kingdom of God is at hand. There is not only Peter’s personal testimony, but also the prophetic word made more sure.
Those who truly read and study the prophetic word, and who also love the Lord, have the morning star already arisen in their hearts. Therefore, they know that the day of the Lord’s coming is very near. These are sure words.
Brothers and sisters, we are living in a most critical time. This is a time when we need hope, and it is also the time when God has given us a weighty trust. He desires us to be a people who earnestly wait for Him and hasten His coming.
Are we such people? Let us look at the condition into which our Lord came the first time.
Galatians 4:4 says:
But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.
He came in order to redeem us from the curse of the law, that we might receive adoption as sons. The Scripture says that He came in the fullness of time.
When the Lord came the first time, the Bible calls it the fullness of time. But was that a satisfactory time from man’s perspective?
For four hundred years, God had not spoken a word to His people. The last prophet was Malachi. After God spoke through Malachi, He did not speak to His elect for four hundred years.
That condition was more miserable than the days when Eli was judge. The Bible says that in Eli’s days, the word of the Lord was rare and visions were infrequent. But at this later time, God did not speak and He did not appear.
This was the time when God’s people were most corrupt. God could not speak to them. He could not appear to them.
Who was sitting on the throne of Judah? It was not a son of David, but Herod, an enemy of Israel. He sat on the throne under the Roman Empire.
What was the condition of religion? They had the temple and the priests, but those with power among the priests were Sadducees.
Although the Pharisees were hypocrites, at least outwardly they appeared to be godly. But the Sadducees were different. They openly denied the resurrection and denied angels.
They were like modernists in Christianity today. Though they are within Christendom, they do not believe in Jesus. They do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He was born of the virgin Mary, or that the blood He shed on the cross cleanses us from sin.
Brothers and sisters, from whatever angle we view it, how could that day be called the fullness of time? It was the darkest of times.
But we thank the Lord: the night is far spent, and the day is at hand. From God’s perspective, it was the fullness of time. It was the darkest time, but the day was beginning.
In the darkest part of the night, before daybreak, among God’s elect there were a very few who earnestly waited for and hastened the day of God.
If we read Luke 1 and 2, we find several such people.
There were Zacharias and Elizabeth. They were descendants of Aaron, and Zacharias was a priest.
In the priestly system, those in power were corrupt. But here was a priest and his wife who were both righteous in the eyes of God. They were obedient to all the commandments of God and were blameless.
This was a rare couple among the priests—rare because they were so godly before God. Yet they had no child.
In Old Testament thought, if a man feared God and obeyed His commandments, he should have many children, because children were regarded as a blessing from God.
Deuteronomy 28:4 says:
Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy beasts, the increase of thy cattle, and the young of thy flock.
Psalm 128 says:
Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord,
That walketh in His ways.
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine,
In the innermost parts of thy house;
Thy children like olive plants,
Round about thy table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
That feareth the Lord.
According to God’s Old Testament promises, this couple should have had many children, because they feared the Lord and obeyed His commandments. But they had no child.
Before men, this could have been a cause for shame. Others might have guessed that, although they appeared pious outwardly, there must have been hidden sin within, and therefore they were cursed rather than blessed.
They must have prayed earnestly for a child, but God did not answer. It seemed that God had not fulfilled His promise.
But this couple did not stumble because of the Lord. They did not stumble because the Lord had not acted according to what they expected. Rather, they abandoned themselves to God and wholeheartedly lived for Him.
They no longer prayed for their own children or for their own reputation. They had one heart: to pray for the coming of the Messiah.
Then an angel appeared to Zacharias and said, “Thy supplication is heard.” He would have a son, and that son would be a forerunner of the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, the Lord considered this couple worthy of being treated in an extraordinary way. Ordinarily, those who fear God receive the outward blessing of many children. But God regarded this couple as having reached a certain spiritual measure.
God had a special leading for them, so that He might bring them into His own heart. They could cast away their own interests and enter into the heart of God. God could use them to bring in His Christ.
This couple waited for and hastened the first coming of the Lord.
Another couple was Mary and Joseph. Though they were descendants of David, they were not on the throne in Jerusalem. They were sojourners in Nazareth, an obscure place of which people said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
Yet among thousands of women, God found this virgin, Mary. Through her womb, God would bring His own Son into the world.
Though no one knew her, God knew her. She was a woman greatly blessed, and the angel greeted her because the Lord was with her.
Brothers and sisters, the presence of the Lord is a greater honor than an earthly throne. Mary was a woman greatly blessed.
We are all blessed. According to ourselves, there is nothing that we can show to the Lord for which He would praise us. But if our hearts are toward God, His grace will come upon us.
The angel told Mary that she would conceive and bear a Son. Mary was a thoughtful person. Whatever she heard, she kept in her heart and pondered repeatedly.
She said, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” The angel told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the power of the Most High would overshadow her; therefore, the holy thing that would be born would be called the Son of God.
Mary said:
Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.
Consider Mary’s condition according to men. If a virgin was found pregnant before marriage, people would conclude that she had committed sin. According to the Old Testament law, she could be stoned to death.
Not only her reputation but even her life was endangered. Yet Mary was not afraid for herself. She was willing to lay herself down so that the will of God might be accomplished.
Whatever price she had to pay, she was willing, because her heart was toward God. This is one who waited for and hastened the coming of the Lord.
But we often forget Joseph. Joseph was a righteous man, and he too was waiting for the Lord.
When he heard the news, he knew that according to the law Mary could be stoned to death, because she was pledged to be married to him. But he was unwilling to put Mary to shame. He had a heart of compassion.
He thought to put her away privately. But the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him that this was God’s work.
Joseph then obeyed God fully. He gave up his own rights, protected Mary, and continued to do so until Jesus was born.
Brothers and sisters, Joseph was also one who waited for and hastened the coming of the Lord.
There were two others: Simeon and Anna. These two also feared God.
Simeon lived before the Lord and was close to Him. Therefore, he received a revelation from the Holy Spirit: before his death, he would see the Consolation of Israel.
He was praying and waiting, so the Holy Spirit revealed this to him.
When the Lord’s parents brought Him into the temple to present Him to God, Simeon was moved by the Holy Spirit to enter the temple. He saw the baby and took Him into his arms.
He said:
Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart, Lord,
According to Thy word, in peace;
For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.
On this earth, Simeon had no other hope. He only hoped that the Consolation of Israel would come. When he saw the Consolation, he said, “I can leave. My work is done.” He was one who hastened the coming of the Lord.
Anna was the same. Although the Lord had not spoken to Israel for four hundred years, this did not mean that there were no prophets. Anna was a prophetess.
Perhaps the prophets of that time did not have fresh words to speak. They could only repeat the word that God had spoken before. Yet those words were not spoken to all Israel, but to the very few who were waiting for the Consolation of Israel.
Anna gave her whole life to the Lord. She fasted and prayed, and did not depart from the temple. She lived for the Lord. She was one who hastened the coming of the Lord.
We also see a group of shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem. These were not ordinary shepherds.
They were tending flocks intended for sacrifices. Their hearts were toward the Lord. Therefore, God sent angels to tell them the good news.
Why did the angels come to them? Because they were a people who were waiting. As they tended sheep for sacrifice, they must have prayed, “When will the Lamb of God come? Thousands upon thousands of sheep are offered in sacrifice. When will the true Lamb of God arrive?”
This was their prayer. So the angel told them that great joy had come: a Savior had been born in the city of David, and He was Christ the Lord.
When they heard this news, they praised God. These were also people who waited for and hastened the coming of the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, today we are living in a time of great darkness. From every angle, we see darkness. But God is looking for a group of people.
They are waiting. They are looking. They are hastening. They cry, “Lord, come quickly. Come quickly.”
Brothers and sisters, this is not merely something we say with our mouths. It is by what we are as persons that we hasten the coming of the Lord.
When the Lord sees a people with pure hearts toward Him, regardless of cost, not counting the price, faithfully following Him, and always crying out for His return—when their hearts are always toward Him—the Lord says, “I cannot but come.”
These are people who hasten the coming of the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, in the darkest time, may we not stumble because of the Lord. May we give up our own interests and our ambitions for His sake.
People on earth may not see, but God knows. God knows what is in your heart. May we fervently desire His coming and pray, “How long, Lord? We want the day of God to arrive.”
This is our prayer.
Brothers and sisters, I believe that God has gathered us together for this very purpose. We may forget all the preaching, but if our hearts are gained by Him, that is enough.
May the Lord have mercy on us. Let us pray.
O God, we praise You. Out of thousands, You have chosen us.
Not only have You saved us, but You have also opened Your own heart to us. How fervently You desire to come.
O God, make us a people who truly wait for and hasten Your return.
We are willing to live for Your kingdom. We are willing to live for You. Have mercy on us.
In the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.