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1 Peter – Jesus is Coming Back
Jesus is Coming Back (1 Peter)
When in difficult times, theology is faith-sustaining. One tenet of that empowering set of beliefs is Jesus’s Second Coming. Because 1 Peter is filled with suffering, both Jesus’s and His Christians, “The apostle of hope” writes about our hope in our triumphing Savior’s return. What will happen then?
1. 1:4 – an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.
2. 1:5 – a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
3. 1:7 – praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
4. 1:9 – the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
5. 1:13 – the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
6. 1:17 – Father who judges impartially according to each one’s work
7. 2:12 – they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.
8. 2:23 – entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.
9. 3:7 – coheirs of the grace of life
10. 3:9 – so that you may inherit a blessing.
11. 3:15 – be ready to make a defense for the hope that is in you (i.e. resurrection)
12. 3:16 – those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.
13. 4:5 – They will give an account to the one who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.
14. 4:13 – you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.
15. 4:17 – For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God.
16. 5:1 – as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed
17. 5:4 – when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
18. 5:6 – he may exalt you at the proper time
19. 5:10 – The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you
THAT’S A LOT!
1 Peter 4:7 promises, “the end of all things is near”. How can that be since it has been 2000 years? I don’t know if I have the best answer but here is a possibility.
Time is not always calculated via time itself, but comparatively and experientially. Ever notice how “long” or “short” something is based upon experience and comparison? A movie may be short at an hour and 30 minutes. A sermon can be long at 50 minutes.
Jesus’s Second Coming is filled with blessings and is near when: 1) comparing eternity to a lifetime; 2) discussing one’s experience with suffering against the joys to come.
When life is bleak, look at the list of blessings, promises, including judgment for those making us suffer. When difficult times are upon us, preaching that overly focuses on the now and not the forever is not enough to sustain us. Remember these things. We all will need them. Lord Jesus is returning!
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