It may seem to us who live nearly 2,000 years after the first coming of Christ as the suffering servant that the second coming of Christ as King and Judge is never going to happen. This is not unique to us. Even the early church struggled with what seemed to be a long delay in Christ’s coming. It seemed to them, just as it might seem to us, that all things stay the same as always. We could lose hope in the return of Christ. Furthermore, this seeming delay of Christ’s coming could give courage to some to scoff at and deny the coming of Christ, and to live in blatant disobedience, thinking that they can sin with impunity. But we should take note of what Peter writes in 2 Peter 3:4–14. We must be reassured that the day of the Lord is coming, and this should incite both to holiness, as well as the pursuit of faithful service, knowing that our labour in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).
17 “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.