Why Hasn't Jesus Come Yet? See the Bible’s Surprising Answer 2 Peter 3:8-9
Why has Jesus not come yet? Nearly two thousand years have passed since the promise of His return was given, and the passing centuries have provided plenty of ammunition for scoffers who say, “Where is the promise of His coming?” But Peter tells us not to judge God's promise by man's clock. What looks like delay from earth's perspective looks entirely different from Heaven's perspective. God is not slack. He has not forgotten His promise. Jesus is coming again. So why the wait? Peter gives us two facts we must never allow to escape our notice: God's perspective on time is different than ours, and behind what men call delay is the longsuffering heart of a Father who is not willing that any should perish. So grab your Bible, and let's discover what God's Word has to say about Why Hasn't Jesus Come Yet? See the Bible’s Surprising Answer all on this week’s Light on Life.
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This Week: Don’t mistake God’s longsuffering for lateness—God is on time, and He’s never late.
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Accept the Challenge
Remember Why He Waits.
This week, refuse to let the passing of time cause the promise of Jesus’ Coming to escape your notice. Keep hearing it. Keep talking about it. Get ready and stay ready.
Then think about the person you’ve been praying for to say YES to Jesus. Don’t give up on them. Pray for them again. Look for an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with them.
God hasn’t given up on them—and neither should you.
Scripture:
Luke 9:56 (AMP) —
For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them [from the penalty of eternal death]. And they journeyed on to another village.
Join the Conversation
Each week's podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believers life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week's question:
Join the Conversation:
Who is the person you are still believing will say YES to Jesus?
Share:
How has understanding God’s longsuffering changed the way you view the apparent delay in Jesus’ Second Coming—and how does it affect the way you pray for people who still need to come to Him?
Remember:
The scoffers may scoff and the mockers may mock, but God has not forgotten His promise. Jesus is coming again. Until He does, remember why He waits: God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
About Emery and Sharon
For nearly five decades, Emery has devoted his life to helping people grow in Christ through the power of the Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Together with his wife, Sharon — his partner in life and ministry for 44 years — he equipped believers to live Spirit-filled, practical lives of faith.
At the heart of the mission is this: helping believers apply God's words so faith becomes active and unstoppable.
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Podcast Notes:
Well again, welcome.
Let’s pray.
Father God thank you for sending Jesus the first time. How excited we are about Jesus coming the Second Time, what a great day it will be. Help us to understand your great heart for lost people today so that we may not ever wonder why it seems like it’s taking so long. Thank you for showing us your perspective on this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
2 Peter 3:8–9 (KJV) — 8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Let’s recap and pickup where we left off last week.
In the first seven verses of 2 Peter 3, Peter, by the Holy Spirit, has painted a picture of the kind of sincere mind every Jesus follower should develop.
We saw that the Greek word ’sincere’ [eilikrinēs] derives from these two words: sunlight and to judge.[1 A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933).]
Together, we have a beautiful word that means something that can withstand judgment under sunlight, revealing no faults when held up to clear light.[2. William Barclay, New Testament Words (London: SCM Press Ltd, 1964), 67–68.]
A sincere mind isn’t afraid to stand in God’s spotlight because it has nothing to hide.
We also saw that Jesus followers must be spiritually awake instead of sluggish and asleep storing God’s Word in their inner man.
That way the Holy Spirit has something to bring back to our remembrance when it’s needed.
This believer keeps first things first and he does that by knowing what God has said and refusing to let the truths of God’s Word escape his notice.
We understood that none of this happens automatically.
That it is the responsibility of every child of God.
The Holy Spirit will help you, remind you, and stir you but you must give Him something to work with.
As we walk with God, as we store God’s Word richly in our inner man, He continually brings back the truth of God’s Word to our minds.
That helps us stay spiritually awake, keeps first things first, and helps to never let His truth escape our notice.
We ended with this question, what truth must I make sure never escapes my notice?
What You Should Never Let Escape
We’ve already read the KJV on this: But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
The NASB has it as ‘do not let this one fact escape your notice.’
The Concordant Translation of the Bible has it as do not be oblivious.
In either case, this demands active vigilance against spiritual blindness.
Can you understand what active vigilance is?
Trevor Reed’s family can and with that thought, here is the Illustration of the Day.
In 2019, Trevor Reed, a former U.S. Marine, was arrested in Russia and later sentenced to nine years in prison after a conviction that the U.S. government said was wrongful.
His family spent nearly three years advocating, watching and waiting for his release while he remained imprisoned far from home.
It happened in April of 2022, Reed was released in a prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia.
During those three years, his family did not know the exact day they would see him walk through the door.
They did not know the day nor the hour when the announcement would come.
But, they continued to believe that a reunion was possible.
As the months passed into the years, they kept hope alive.
Now, the Reed family didn’t just sit idly by waiting.
They advocated, they met with government officials, they went to see the President of the United States.
They did something while they were waiting.
They were not waiting because they had a date.
They were waiting because they had a promise.
Time did not erase the promise.
And neither does the passing of time erase God’s promise.
God is on time—He’s never late.
They kept the facts of the case from being buried and lost through neglect.
In the same fashion, Peter tells us by the Holy Ghost that we are to remember one thing while we are waiting for the Second Coming, and staring down the naysayers.
So what do you do while you wait?
You remember.
You hold to the promise.
You refuse to let the passing of time talk you out of what God said.
Because what you stop remembering, you eventually stop expecting.
Here are the facts of the case that must never be buried and lost through neglect.
Fact Number One: God’s Perspective on Time Is Different Than Ours
And so what we have so far is this.
But do not let this one fact escape your notice, don’t be oblivious or ignorant of the fact that you are beloved of God, and as the beloved you must know that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
One day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.
For many years I’ve heard teaching that one day is equal to a thousand years.
Some prophecy preachers have tied this into predicting the Second Coming of Jesus coupling it with numerology, specifically the use of the number seven as God’s perfect number.
The idea goes something like this: you have approximately 4,000 years of human history from Adam to Jesus, followed by 2,000 years from Jesus until now and then adding the 1,000-year Millennial Reign of Jesus brings us to 7,000 years.
Six days plus the seventh day—the Millennium—makes a 7,000-year spread.
Seven days—seven thousand years and then 2 Peter 3:8 is brought in to substantiate all this.
But this verse is not the proof for this concept.
Look with me at what Moses said in Psalm 90.
Psalm 90:4 (KJV) — 4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
The psalmist says that a thousand years in God’s sight are as yesterday but also adds that the same thousand years in God’s sight are as a watch in the night.
What is a watch in the night?
A watch in the night is much less than a 24 hour period.
In the Old Testament, the night was divided into three watches.
By New Testament times, the night was divided into four watches.
So depending on which system you’re looking at, a watch in the night was approximately three to four hours.
We can prove the New Testament side of this easily.
Jesus alluded to daytime being 12 hours.
John 11:9 (KJV) — 9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day?…
That means there are 12 hours in the day and 12 hours at night.
Now do you remember the account where Jesus walked on the water?
The Word of God tells us exactly when that was during the night.
Matthew 14:25 (KJV) — 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
So a watch in the night can be as little as 3 hours and up to 4 hours.
Moses said a thousand years is as a watch in the night.
So you can’t take this verse and say, “There it is—one day with God equals exactly one thousand years.”
That should open up our eyes to what 2 Peter 3:8 is really saying.
Peter is quoting Moses and saying that God’s concept of a long day, a long century, or a long millennium is not the same as man’s.
You may be in a place where you’re thinking that you’re in a challenging season of your life.
You may pray about something over and over again for months, maybe even years, thinking that somehow the sheer number of times you’ve brought the case before the Lord is going to make the difference.
But think about prayer and God’s perspective on time.
What seems like a long period of time to you over months and years is not a long period of time in God’s hearing.
From your viewpoint, those petitions may be over a span of years.
What does years of repeated petitions sound like in the hearing of a God to whom a thousand years are like yesterday—or even a watch in the night?
From God’s viewpoint, they sound like they’re coming almost one right after another.
So, God heard you.
Be confident of that.
Prayer is not wearing God down over time.
He wants to answer your prayer that’s why He gave instructions on exactly how to do that.
Luke 12:32 (KJV) — 32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
You see, time is your perspective, not His.
So here we are 21st century Planet Earth.
We keep hearing about the promise of Jesus’ Second Coming.
We should keep hearing it—it’s a message that must go out and be heard.
Can I tell you, we are not talking about it enough.
A wise man, hearing about the Second Coming, would get ready and stay ready.
But then you hear a naysayer say, ‘Ah no way, we’ve been hearing that for years and years, a really long time and there’s no sign of Him.’
Just know that your definition of a long time is not God’s definition.
A thousand years are like one day.
A thousand years are like yesterday.
A thousand years are like a watch in the night.
Which one is it?
All of them—BANG—there it is!
God isn’t giving you a formula on End Times here in 2 Peter 3:8.
He’s giving you His perspective.
God is on time—He’s never late.
God Is Not Running Late
On what?
He’s getting ready to tell you—here is God’s perspective.
2 Peter 3:9 (KJV 1900) — 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise.
What does that mean?
Well, let’s take a look at it—let’s define it.
The Greek word ’slack’ [bradunēi] means to be slow, late or tardy.
It means to delay or to lag behind.
The mockers and scoffers were saying in Peter’s day and are saying it in our day that God is slack, tardy, late, and lagging behind His promise of the Second Coming of Jesus.
That clearly indicates that these mockers DO NOT KNOW GOD.
How can God be late when NO ONE KNOWS the day or the hour?
Mark 13:32 (KJV) — 32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Not even Jesus knows the day or the hour.
The Father God is not late—He never told anyone the time to start with.
To be late or to be lagging behind time is to say that you know what the time is.
Since no human knows the time, no citizen of earth has a frame of reference.
All God ever said was that no one, outside of Himself, knows the day or the hour.
So how can anyone accuse God of being late for an appointment when He never told us what time the appointment would be?
God is on time—He’s never late.
The delay that men think they are seeing is a feeling that judges as the eyes see and not as the heart believes.
The scoffer looks at the passing centuries and passes a value judgment on God’s promise saying there’s no way Jesus is Coming again.
If He was coming, He would have been here already.
People do the same thing with God’s prayer promises.
There’s a bit of delay from our perspective—the answer doesn’t come like Speedy Gonzalez—and we are left waiting and the enemy whispers a lie in our ears, ‘You’re not going to get this.’
Honey, your perspective is not God’s perspective.
Peter looks at those same passing centuries and says, “Nope, God may seem to be lagging behind but, there is a reason for that.”
“And once you understand the reason, you will see the fact that God is actually right on time.”
So, what’s the reason?
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, but is longsuffering… not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
There it is—there is the reason.
God is longsuffering and with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
The Greek word ’longsuffering’ [makrothumia], also translated as patience in other translations, is a word consisting of two parts: the prefix ’makro’ which, when applied to time means long, long lasting, or enduring [3. Thoralf Gilbrant, “Μακρός,” in The New Testament Greek-English Dictionary (WORDsearch, 1991).] and the word ’thumos’ which means a building of intensity that could suddenly become an intense expression of anger.
Put those two ideas together and you begin to see the picture behind the word longsuffering or patience.
God is longsuffering.
He is enduring without giving way to anger.
Think about a volcano that builds pressure to the point that it’s getting ready to explode but the explosion is held back.
That’s the idea behind longsuffering.
God suffers long.
It is an expression of love.
1 Corinthians 13:4 (AMP) — 4 Love endures long and is patient and kind…
The explosion of judgment that men deserve is delayed, postponed, and held back.
And Peter is about to tell us why this is.
So don’t mistake His longsuffering for lateness.
God is on time—He’s never late.
Fact Number Two: God Has a Patient Heart for the Lost
2 Peter 3:8–9 (KJV) — 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
The words not willing are an ultimate expression of the love of God.
You must know the Greek meaning behind this phrase—it speaks volumes.
The words ’not willing’ [ou boulomai] show a deliberate choice on God’s part.
This is not a casual call that God makes here.
‘Not willing’ is a determined resolve, a conscious committed decision.
What is God’s conscious committed decision?—that NO ONE should perish.
Understanding this aspect of your heavenly Father is a reason to celebrate.
He has displayed this same ’not willing that any should perish’ trait all down through the ages.
Listen to Ezekiel on this.
Ezekiel 33:11 (NASB 2020) — 11 Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure at all in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then should you die, house of Israel?’
Then in Luke’s gospel, we have.
Luke 9:56 (AMP) — 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them [from the penalty of eternal death]. And they journeyed on to another village.
And of course, John 3:16.
John 3:16 (NASB 2020) — 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.
Because God so loved the world, He urges us to pray for all men.
1 Timothy 2:1–4 (NASB 2020) — 1 First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
God doesn’t want one person to be lost so instead of dropping the hammer on those who more than deserve it, He holds back that hammer and waits.
What is He waiting for?
He is waiting for every person to say YES to Jesus, to say YES to His way.
God is full of patience and longsuffering.
He is long-tempered.
I am so glad.
Think about where you would be today if He wasn’t patient with you?
You’d be in a mess.
God’s Longsuffering on Display
God’s longsuffering [makrothumia] isn’t reluctant and it isn’t fleeting.
Patience is part of His nature—and that patience has been on display all throughout the season of man.
Think about Sodom and Gomorrah for a moment.
The Lord did not want that city to perish as bad and as ungodly as it was.
God wanted to spare that city.
It’s obvious that’s what He wanted to do.
That’s why He went to talk to Abraham about it.
Genesis 18:17–19 (KJV) — 17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
If you continue reading in Genesis 18, you will see that Abraham negotiated for the city of Sodom starting at ‘if there were 50 righteous in city’ all the way down to 10 and in each case, the Lord said, ‘I will spare the city if I find that number of righteous people in it.’
It’s obvious that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should repent.
It’s plain to see that God wanted to spare Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.
The book of Jonah lets us in on the sins of Nineveh during the time of this prophet’s ministry.
Jonah 1:2 (KJV) — 2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
The city was wicked—totally depraved.
Jonah 3:8 (KJV) — 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
The Hebrew word ’violence’ [chamas] amplifies the evil that was resident in this city.
The root word paints the picture of forceful, destructive and violent actions perpetrated by the people of this city.
We’re talking physical brutality—we’re talking sheer oppression.
God saw all of this for there is nothing that is hidden from His eyes.
Think of a volcano getting ready to blow its top.
What did God do?
Did He drop immediate hammer-like judgment?
No God sent His man, the prophet Jonah, to the city with a message.
Why would God do that?
Because of His great love that said that He is not willing that any should perish.
The people of Nineveh heeded the warning and repented and judgment was pushed down the road.
Later, Jonah complained and moaned about this.
He tells the Lord why he didn’t want to preach there.
Jonah 4:2 (KJV) — “…for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness…”
You bet He is—God is SO merciful.
No nation understood this better than Israel.
Isaiah 48:1,4–8 (NASB 2020) — 1 “Hear this, house of Jacob, who are named Israel And who came from the waters of Judah, Who swear by the name of the LORD And invoke the God of Israel, But not in truth nor in righteousness… 4 “Because I know that you are obstinate, And your neck is an iron tendon And your forehead bronze… 8 “You have not heard, you have not known. Even from long ago your ear has not been open, Because I knew that you would deal very treacherously; And you have been called a rebel from birth.
Can you hear the volcano rumbling?
And yet God, because of His great love, mercy, and patience, says.
Isaiah 48:9 (NASB 2020) — 9 “For the sake of My name I delay My wrath, And for My praise I restrain it for you, In order not to cut you off.
Get it straight—get it clear—God is not willing that any should perish.
So, what does He do when the scoffers scoff and the mockers tell lies on God?
What does He do when it seems as if people are rejecting the message of Jesus and living in violence and corruption instead?
What does He do?
Does He react in anger, no.
Does He rise from His Throne and say I am going to balance the scales and get even with these miserable humans, no.
He says I’m going to keep waiting, I’m going to keep sending people, whose shoes are the ‘preparation of the gospel of peace’ with the good news of Jesus.
Maybe they will repent today.
Maybe they will repent tomorrow.
I will wait if there is a chance that one would say YES and not be lost.
That’s longsuffering.
That’s makrothumia.
That’s why Jesus hasn’t come yet.
Not because God is slack.
Not because God forgot His promise.
Not because Jesus isn’t coming.
God is giving every single human person time to repent.
What a Father God He is!
What a redeemer He is!
What a God—what a God!
Putting the Word Into Action
So what do we do with all of this?
First, get it settled in your heart—God is not slack.
He is not tardy.
He is not late.
He has not forgotten His promise.
Jesus is coming a second time.
Don’t allow the passing of time to cause you to pass a value judgment on the faithfulness of God.
Your perspective is not God’s perspective.
What seems like a long time to you is not a long time to Him.
So when it comes to the Second Coming of Jesus, be a wise man—get ready and stay ready.
And when it comes to the promises of God in your own life, don’t let a little delay from your perspective cause you to believe the enemy’s lie: “You’re not going to get this prayer answered.”
God heard you.
Be confident of that.
Prayer is not wearing God down over time.
Time is your perspective, not His.
And then remember what God is doing while He waits.
He is being longsuffering.
Maybe someone will repent today.
Maybe someone will repent tomorrow.
God is giving every single human person time to say YES to Jesus.
That’s the very heart of your heavenly Father.
Call to Action
So here’s the challenge.
Don’t let the passing of time cause the promise of Jesus' Coming to escape your notice.
Keep hearing it.
Keep talking about it.
Jesus is coming again.
Get ready and stay ready.
And while God is waiting, don’t give up on the people He is waiting for.
Keep praying.
Keep sharing the good news of Jesus.
Keep giving people an opportunity to say YES to Him.
So who are you waiting on?
Who is that person you’ve been praying for to say YES to Jesus?
Don’t give up on them.
Pray for them today.
Look for an opportunity to share Jesus with them.
God hasn’t given up on them and neither should you.
The scoffers may scoff.
The mockers may mock.
But God is not slack.
God has not forgotten His promise.
Jesus is coming again.
Until He does, remember why He waits.
That’s longsuffering.
That’s makrothumia.
God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
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These and other podcasts are available at emeryhorvath.com.
Why Hasn’t Jesus Come Yet? See the Bible’s Surprising Answer
Until then, remember: God is on time—He’s never late.
You guys have a great God week and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.
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