3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come
in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will
say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell
asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
(2 Peter 3:3-4)
Peter tells us that one of the signs of the times is that skeptics and scoffers will not only deny the Second Coming of the Lord, but they will ridicule believers who hold to Christ’s imminent return. As our culture grows darker and departs from the truth, we can expect to see this kind of sneering more and more.
Case in point—the 45th
season of satire and sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live aired on
Sept. 29, 2019. In the opening sketch an actor portraying Pres. Donald Trump is
calling several political friends on the phone. At one point he phones a look-alike
playing Mike Pence. Trump says to Pence, “Big Mike, how’s church going? You
still waiting on what’s-his-face to come back?” Pence replies, “You mean
Jesus sir?” Trump says, “Yeah, that’s the guy.” (To watch the clip click here)
It’s obvious that not only
is this skit intended to be a jab at the Trump administration, but also it derides
Christians who believe in the “blessed hope” of Christ’s appearing (Titus
2:13).
Not too long ago, I was
riding around Asheville and I saw a bumper sticker that poked fun at the idea
of the Lord’s return. The sticker said, “Jesus is coming back hide the porn!”
In many of the major cities
in the U.S. and U.K. atheist groups have started billboard campaigns. Last
Christmas one sign was put up in Times Square which had Santa Claus on one side
and Jesus on the other with the caption, “Keep the Merry. Dump the Myth!”[1]
Prominent evolutionist and atheist writer Richard Dawkins paid to have signs
plastered on London buses which read, “There’s Probably No God, So Stop
Worrying and Enjoy Your Life.”[2]
This is nothing new, for there
were scoffers in the days of Noah. We know this because even though Noah was
preaching that a great flood was coming and he spent 120 building an Ark, no
one believed him enough to board the boat. 1 Peter 3:20 indicates that only
eight were spared from the deluge—Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives.
Imagine staying faithful to the Lord for that long and seeing no coverts! Yet, the
scoffers in Noah’s day were proved wrong when the waters rose, and God sealed
the door of the Ark so they could not get in (Gen. 7:16).
Interestingly, Jesus said
that the world would revert to the “days of Noah” just prior to His return, and
that means an increase in scoffers (Matt. 24:37). Likewise, those who mock
Christ’s return will be in for a rude awakening when He comes on the clouds of
heaven, “every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes of
the earth will wail on account of Him” (Rev. 1:7).
We could get offended at the
foolishness of mockers, but every time we see scoffers making fun of Christians
for believing in Christ’s return we should actually take comfort because they
are unknowingly fulfilling the words of Scripture, confirming that we are indeed
in the last days!
-DM
[1]
Ryan Grenoble, “American Atheists Place 2012 ‘Myth’ Holiday Billboard In Times Square:
‘Keep The Merry, Dump The Myth,’ Huffington
Post, 11 December 2012 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/11/american-atheists-christmas-billboard-times-square_n_2273314.html>
[2]
Riazat Butt, “Atheist Bus Campaign Goes Nationwide,” The Guardian, 6 January 2009 <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/06/religion-atheist-bus-campaign-national>
No comments:
Post a Comment