CAN WE SPEED UP THE TIME OF CHRIST'S COMING? (II PETER 3:12)

This is an intriguing question which is really only brought up directly by this one cryptic verse in the Bible. In part, it reads: “What sort of persons ought you to be...waiting for and hastening [speudontas] the coming of the day of God...?” This concept has given rise to various attempts by people to actually influence Christ to come sooner rather than later. Some set quite noble goals such as the missionary organizations who are striving to evangelize all the people groups through Bible translations in all languages and proclaiming the message around the world (also influenced by Jesus' words in Matthew 24:14). However, it has also launched some rather cockeyed schemes to bring about the End. These include:

    digging wells in Israel in order to find so much oil reserves that her jealous neighbors will launch an attack that triggers the Battle of Armageddon;

    looking for Noah's ark so that the exact length of a cubit can be determined as needed for the rebuilding of the temple; and

    supposed secret plans in Israel to collect DNA samples on the residents in order to determine which ones have the correct genetic bloodlines in order to serve in the rebuilt temple as priests and Levites.

Most of the controversy regarding this passage revolves around the correct translation for the root verb speudo, whether its appearance in v. 12 be taken as transitively or intransitively. English translations are quite divided on this point. 

    On the one hand are those who translate the word as “hasten” or “hurry along.” These include KJV, NEB, TEV, Living Bible, NASB, and AB. 

    Then there is the NIV rendering of “speed its coming” with, however, an alternative translation of “wait eagerly for” given in a footnote. 

    A third group includes RSV and NRSV which give the preferred translation as “earnestly desiring” but with a footnote identifying “hastening” as an alternative. 

    The final group simply opts for the basic meaning of earnestly desiring, with variations such as “long for” (JB), “eager for its arrival” (The Message), and “earnestly longing” (J.B. Phillips).

Despite such a divided opinion found in the translations, I was amazed that all of the scholarly resources I looked at agreed that the basic meaning of “hasten” was to be preferred in this verse. This is despite the fact that interpreting it in that manner runs counter to many of our expectations.

    Verhey calls it “a new note” in the letter.

    David Payne says, “This is a striking suggestion that men can in some way speed up God's plans, and it does not commend itself to all commentators; nevertheless it may well be correct...”

    Carson states that “the notion of hastening the day of the Lord's return is unavoidable.”

    Harvey and Towner add: “There is indeed a good deal of mystery in this statement. We need to receive it humbly, refusing to let our theological presuppositions pull it in directions we prefer.”

However, this particular interpretation of verse 12 does not come out of the clear blue. David Payne expresses the opinion that “it would link up well with v. 9: since God delays to give men time to repent, their speedy obedience will shorten the interval prior to the day of God.”

And D.A. Carson turns to the Old Testament to find another possible background for this verse. “This latter clause [3:12b] ultimately depends on Isa. 60:22...'I am the LORD, in its time I will hasten it.' Here, of course, it is the Lord who is hastening the day, not his obedient people...In rabbinic circles another tradition affirms that God hastens or delays the day based on Israel's repentance or lack of repentance, though it is uncertain that any of these traditions reach back to Peter's time.”

So, Gangel asks, “How do believers hasten it? The godly lives of the Lord's people, their praying, and their witnessing help bring others to repentance.” Other scholars expand on this theme:

M. Green offers as the various ways that “present Christian activity ...influences the time of the Lord's return” such as: evangelism (Mark 13:10), prayer (as in Revelation 8:4 and the Lord's Prayer with “thy kingdom come”), Christian behavior (II Peter 3:11; I Peter 2:12), and repentance and obedience (Acts 3:19-21). Similarly, J. Barton Payne offers Matthew 6:10 and I Corinthians 16:22 in regard to prayer as well as Matthew 24:14 and Acts 3:19-20 referring to the effect of evangelism on the timing of the Parousia. “Conversely, the sins of men delay the coming (II Pet 3:9).” Wheaton also cites Acts 3:19-20 although Carson takes issue with its use to argue in that matter, voicing the opinion that it is going “beyond the evidence.”

In summarizing the above thoughts, Kreitzer puts it this way: “The delay between the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his Parousia is thus to be viewed as a period of God's grace, offering time for the church to enjoy both eager expectation and to discharge its responsibilities.” M.Green adds, “What a wonderfully positive conception of the significance of our time on earth...It is intended to be a time of active co-operation with God in the redemption of society.”

But doesn't this conflict with the doctrine of God's absolute sovereignty? Bauckman explains it in this manner: “[Mankind's] repentance and holy living may therefore, from the human standpoint, hasten its coming. This does not subtract from God's sovereignty in determining the time of the End..., but means only that his sovereign determination graciously takes human affairs into account.”