THE TIME ON GOD'S CLOCK

II PETER 3:8

06-23-74

 

Three ways of interpreting the text.

 

      1.  Spiritualizing.  Surpassing a spiritual, not a literal, meaning.

Compare Fosdick sermon.  A 1000 years a day.  Meaningless.  Unchanged.  Geological eyes. 

 

Then a day a 1000 years.  In brief time changed, remade, crisis, war, (a moment of battle). 

 

            a.  Man is lost, manhunt over, hair white as snow. 

 

      2.  Theologizing.  Speculating.  Setting a date for the coming of Christ. 

 

Compare:  Hosea 6:1,2,When dead raised at Christ's coming?  "third..."

Genesis 2:1-3, The sabbatic, millennial rest on 7th day. 

 

4000 years BC, 2000 AD, then the last chiliad a Sabbath to the preceding.  But the chronology of the past so obscure difficult to tell when began.  Our curiosity rather tantalized than gratified.  We cannot ascertain the times or the seasons - the Father works in His own will and purpose.  We do not know when,twilight thru the coming of our Lord.  No man knoweth, not even the angels in heaven.

 

We are not to question where God declines to answer.

We are not to find what God has purposely hidden.

 

      3.  Textually, expositionally

 

The purpose, meaning of the passage.  What caused Peter to write.  What Peter said in answers.

 

The words written for a two-fold purpose.

 

            1.  To meet the arguments of scoffers who said "Where is the promise, 'All things continue as they were'...?" No divine intervention as in the judgment of the blood.  Waited many years, waiting now.

 

            2.  To comfort, strengthen believers.  Even to the faithful the __ and became lazy, fell into despair over this fulfillment.

 

Compare:  Thessalonica to Paul about their beloved dead. 

 

The chariot of the Lord lay lay in coming to the triumph; disciples growing weary in watching and in waiting.  Ready to cast down their armor, leave the conflict.

 

He mutes the scoffer and consoles the disciples by the word of truth.  You do not know what you say when speak of length of time - God's clock not ours.  Our time not the right one, certainly not the divine one.

 

Great important is to be attached to what he as to say: "Be not smart..." .  3:5 - Some willfully ignorant.  Close their eyes.

        -  Some idly ignorant.  Will not study, search Scripture.

 

Compare:  David, searching the Scripture, 70 years.

 

I.  TIME WITH GOD

 

      1.  All time is equally present with God. 

 

To us - if hour, close, near.  If  1,000 years hence, in our graves, far off.  Not so with God.  All things equally near, present.  61000  year interval. 

 

With God, no past, no future, but just "now".  "I Am."  Not "I was" as though ceased to be.  Attributes ceased.  Character changed.  Not "I shall be".  Is not now all that searching shall be.  No development in God.  All in all.  To dying mortal there is yesterday, today, tomorrow.  But to eternal God only today.  He is the "I am" of the past, the "I am" of the present, and the "I am" of the future. 

 

Compare:  Revelation 1:4 = Daniel 7:9

 

      2.  All history is equally present with God

 

Compare:

 

One time, I went down the Illinois River in the Cookson Hills of Eastern Oklahoma, one of the most beautiful streams in the world.  Flows clear over rock. I went down with one of my deacons in the church sat Muskogee in a canoe.  And as we went down the Illinois River in that canoe, we went around this bend and this bend and this bend.  And as we went down the river, why, we saw things happen one at a time as we came to them as the river went down through the hills. 

 

But one could stand on top of one of those highest little mountains in the Cookson Hills, and he could see that stream, here, clear to there, and he could see us, going down the stream in our little canoe.  Now God is like that.  To us, things happen one at a time, day at a time.  And we don't know what is around the bend of the day.  But God's not like that.  God sees the whole things from the beginning to the end.  All of it is present to Him.

 

Compare:

Soldier Stadium,  Labor Day Parade, Michigan. Coming in one at a time.  Bands, bridges, etc.  But high up, sees whole __.

 

So events in history - god see them all together.

Compare:  Double stars.  As one, though millions of miles beyond.  So fall and redemption.  To us, far apart.  To God, as together.  So fall and rising again of Israel.  Our thought, land perished.  But after 2000 years, out of grace of nation, the new nation.  No change in His purpose though through the revealing years.  No unseen difficulties to prevent the accomplishment of his purpose.  No army take God ambush; no region against Him prosper. 

 

So our sins.  Compare:  Reuben rejected.  Genesis 49:4.  Happened 40 years before.  If not blocked out, there forever. 

 

      3.  All time is equally obedient to God.

 

We are rigidly held by the hours.

 

If racked with pain, would speed them up.  "Would God it were morning."  But refused to be shortened. 

 

If happy, would lengthen; if use such time for new preparation - can't stay.  Inexorable, moving onward, though every motion of the pendulum as a cutting sword, a ticking clock a wedding bell, yet it goes on.      

 

He cannot hasten it in one instance.  And he cannot slow it or stop it in the other instance.

 

Not so with God.  Time not His master.

 

Compare:  Joshua 10:12, "Oh, God, that sun standing over Gibeon, stop it.  Stand still.  And that moon that is shining over the valley of Ajalon, stop its motion around the sun.  Stop it."

 

Compare:  II Kings 20:9-11  Backward - forward.  As chooses. 

 

II. THE MEANING OF TIME

 

      1.  To the scoffer, who mocks the promises of God, the very existence of God. 

 

Compare:  Within a drop of water a 1000 living creatures.  To them, no doubt, size would seem very important.  One of them 10 times bigger than his neighbor.  No doubt feels the difference, amazing and extraordinary.   But to us... what would one of those little inferior protozoa's say if some protozoan of their own should say he knew a creature ... whole drop of water as nothing...could take up to 10,000 drops and scatter them- their whole great world no encumbrance on tip of finger.  That this creature not disturbed if gather together our great empire of soldiers and armies against the kingdom of the paramecium's.   "How could this be?  Can't imagine such a thing."  Yet when the professional philosopher had gotten the ideas of the narrowness of his world, an easy task compared to ours before the great High God. 

 

So the 1000 years - but cipher in the years of His existence.

1000 years -  but drops in the oceans of His vastness.

1000 years  - leaf falling in the vast infinite forest of God's being.

1000 years - one grain of sand in the perpetual, innumerable shore of God's existence.

 

            a.  Sinclair Lewis, Arthur Brisbane, Charles Storer.  "Ant on Sante Fe Track in Arizona."

 

 

 

      2.  To the judgments of God. 

 

God has no need to be in a hurry.  To all, the night cometh.  Our sun goes down, but God's sun never goes down.  He never out to ruin to attain His purposes.

 

Compare:  To the snail, a mile long way.  To the hound, shorter.  to the diesel locomotive, smaller.  To the jet, smaller.  For the ray of light, nothing.  To the outer wave, nonexistent.  To other somethings we have not yet discovered. 

 

So God in His work:

 

      1.  If choose, His judgments with speed of light:  a day a 1000 years, not performed better if lasted a 1000 years; lasted though an age; none the worse because confined to a day. 

 

Compare:  Armies of Pharaoh.  Uplifted word, terrific union of parted floods.  Sank like lead in mighty waters.

 

Compare:  River Kishon swept away armies of Jabin,King of Hazor, "Stars in their courses fought against Sisera".

 

Compare:  Sennacherib.  A bit in his mouth; a hook in his nose.

 

      2.  If choose His judgments shows. 

 

Compare:  The saying, "The mills of the good grind coarse, but they grind exceedingly fine."

 

      3.  For the Christian Believer

 

To us, the Lord is long in coming.  The bridegroom tarryith.  Dark dreary days of existence.  When will the Savior come?  1960 years, no Lord.  Christ not yet in Jerusalem; nor do we behold Him wearing the crown of His father David. 

 

To the souls in heaven, Rev. 6:9 under the altar, "How long, O Lord!"  The answer to them.  Rev. 6:11 " a little season rest..."  The answer to us.  "I am not long."  Two days.  Compare with eternity.  "I come quickly.  

 

      1.  God gives time for repentance.

      2.  The victory at the end all the greater, redemption all the more glorious because of the long days of strife.

 

God could confound all the scoffers, blasphemers, unbelievers, in a moment.  God could crush the great whore, the scarlet woman of Rev. 17 who sits on the scarlet beast, who lives in the city of the 7 hills. 

 

God could cast to the cinder and vats all the idol gods they worship, burn down all the images they adore. 

 

God could destroy the power of evil, darkness, debauchery, do it.  But no.  Let these lay their plans, with deliberation, execute there schemes with liars.  At last crushed in overwhelming .

 

 

The choral song greater.

The hallelujah chorus mightier.

The triumph more glorious.

 

Compare:  Miriam, after 400 years of slavery, Exodus 15:1,2.

 

Compare:  Revelation 15:1-3 "The song of Moses and the Lamb"

 

 

And the triumph will be greater.

And we shall rest in that fair and happy land, by and by,

Just across of the evergreen shore.

Singing the song of Moses and the Lamb by and by,

And dwell with Jesus ever more