Hasten the Day

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?   2 Peter 3:10-12  NKJV

Something that I will always remember about having children is the sense of anticipation they had every year when Christmas began to appear on the horizon.  Not only did their sense of excitement increase as the days went by, something I heard a lot surrrounded their wishes that the big day would arrive sooner than planned.  As the Church, the body of Christ,  I believe we can all agree that we are not only looking for, but longing for the day we are taken away to live with our Lord in Heaven forever. Yet I wonder how many of us understand that as opposed to my daughters having to wait for Christmas, we as believers are told in this passage that we can advance the day of our deliverance?

These words from the apostle Peter,  while written to early believers concerning the return of Christ, specifically deal with the time in history that we find ourselves living in today.  We see the signs we are told to look for occurring all around us at an increasingly accelerated pace, yet we still find ourselves here as the Father chooses to tarry so the last few can make the choice to join the body in time to experience the rapture we have been promised.  Yet while many might feel the impatience of waiting, Peter reveals something to us in these words that many overlook, and it is found in the phrase "looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God".

I want to share with you the following thoughts from just two teachers I have the utmost respect for. The first is Jack Kelley, who I am sure you are familiar with because I refer to him often, and the second is David Guzik, pastor of Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara.

Can we really hasten the Day of the Lord? In Romans 11:25 Paul wrote that Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. This means the Church will contain a predetermined number of members, and when that number is complete, we’ll all disappear in the Rapture. Maybe that’s one reason why we won’t know the Rapture’s timing in advance. It depends on the Church achieving a predetermined number, not on reaching a predetermined date. By living Holy and Godly lives, we can influence others to respond more favorably when we talk to them about Jesus. That would make the Church grow faster, bring the Rapture sooner, and hasten the Day of the Lord.

https://gracethrufaith.com/end-times-prophecy/the-end-times-according-to-peter-2/

Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God: Peter says there is a sense in which we can hasten the Lord’s coming. It’s remarkable to think that we can actually do things that will affect the return of Jesus. In the immediate context, Peter says that we hasten the Lord’s coming by our holy conduct and godliness.
i. We can also hasten the Lord’s coming through evangelism. Paul said that God’s prophetic focus on Israel will resume when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in (Romans 11:25).
ii. We can also hasten the Lord’s coming through prayer. Even as Daniel asked for a speedy fulfillment of prophecy regarding captive Israel (Daniel 9), we can also pray “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/2-peter-3/

At this point, I think we would all agree that we as believers not only have the responsibility, but should be actively pusuing all that we can to hasten the day of our Lord's appearing.  What we each choose to do is a matter of personal conviction, but my hope is that you will join me in doing whatever you feel the Holy Spirit leads you to do.  That is, in all reality, the big question facing all of us in light of these words from Peter.  What are you willing to do?  I want to go out on a limb here and share with you something I have been considering for a while now which, while highly speculative, does fall into the category of possibility.

In June, Breaking Israel News published an article citing a 40-year-old prediction by Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri, the most famous Kabbalist (mystic) in Israel until his death in 2006. According to an eyewitness, Rabbi Kaduri predicted that the Messiah will be revealed following an election stalemate in Israel. At a small gathering, Rabbi Kadur was asked when the Moshiach (Messiah) will come. He answered, ‘When there will be elections but there will not be a government’.”
That prediction is even more powerful after the second round of elections held last week leave both major parties struggling to form a coalition government.

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/137666/multiple-jewish-sources-point-to-israels-election-impasse-as-the-gateway-to-messiah/

If you follow politics in Israel, you surely know there has been much speculation over the years about the religious beliefs of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel.  It is known that he studies the ancient writings of the Rabbis and has a rather large collection of these commentaries.  It is also reported that he holds and participates in weekly Bible studies and is intimately familiar with the prophecies concerning Israel.  Now I'm sure that most if not all of us are aware of the political stalemate in Israel right now, and the fact that they have been unable to form a government for quite some time.  Many in Israel blame Netanyahu for the current situation because of his unwillingness to compromise and form a unity government, but I want to suggest a different possibility and one as I said, is highly speculative.

I have fielded many questions from many people about the political stalemate in Israel these past few months, and to be sure, my conclusions followed much the same path as most, until this past week.  That is when, while sudying this passage from Peter, the question of what would I be willing to do to hasten our Lord's return crossed my mind.  As I thought about that, I could not help but wonder if, with all that he knows about the Word, Benjamin Netanyahu is deliberately stalling the formation of a government in hopes that it would pave the way for the Lord's reurn?  I admit there is no evidence to prove this, and as I said, it is just speculation.

The question still needs to be asked though, what are you willing to do?

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth for the sole purpose of sacrificing Himself so we can spend eternity with Him in Heaven.  The signs of His imminent return for us are all around us.  If you have never taken the step of accepting this gift of eternal life, I urge you to do it right now.  Simply pray a prayer like this one and confess to God your need for salvation, and accept the gift He provided for you by the death and resurrection of His own Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus I know I am a sinner. I have sinned against you, but I know you loved me enough to send your Son, Jesus Christ to die for my sins and then rise from the dead so that I may live forever with You. Lord forgive me of my sins and come into my life and help me to begin to live for You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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