Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:3-4)

A Scoffers Folly

One of the great ironies of scripture is found in how those who scoffed at the teachings of Peter are viewed in the modern context of time. The early church preached that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, ascended to the Father, and would return one day. It seems clear in the early days that the saints believed firmly that the revelation of Christ would come in their lifetime. A central theme was the imminent return of Jesus and the glorification of the saints. It did not happen. The first-century passed into the second century and Jesus did not return. When the third century came and went, Jesus had not returned. The scoffers were more emboldened to deny the return of Jesus. The irony of those who scoffed at the preaching of Jesus is that two thousand years have passed and Jesus has yet to come.

A scoffer is someone who derides or scornfully rejects the teaching of Jesus Christ. The scoffer is not just someone who disagrees, but they actively mock and scorn those who believe in the resurrected Christ and the promise of the coming of Christ in the clouds. Walking in the lust of their own desires, scoffers ridicule ‘religion’ and the Bible as ridiculous and obsolete. God is mocked, the church is ridiculed, and the holy life of the Christian is laughed upon as frivolous. A ‘woke’ society of scoffers gain power and seek to destroy every vestige of religion and persecute those who challenge them. They proudly wear the name of scoffer as they ask for proof of Jesus Christ and the evidence of God. Nothing they find can show them the truth.

The philosophy of the scoffer is to look at the time and say that what was said two thousand years ago has yet to happen – so there is no God. Jesus said He would return and He has not. The world has continued with each day the sun rising and setting. Life is normal. Everything about the earth continues. For the scoffer, life is a full day of squeezing out every ounce of fun and frolicking to the enjoyment of the flesh without fear of consequence. Scoffers go for all the gusto of life. There is no fear in their hearts. Life is good and tomorrow will always come. And that is the scoffer’s folly.

Two thousand years have rolled by since Peter warned the early saints of those who would scoff at the gospel. It seems that if two thousand years have gone by, why would Jesus come now? The rationale is foolish because, if anything should be clearer, today’s date is closer to the reality of the coming of the Lord than at any time in history. Scoffers believe they will live forever – until the day they die. One of the characteristics of those who scoff at God is to think they are taller than God. They laugh that God is bigger than their power and their might. That is why they are called scoffers because they are fools. Death is a great reminder of the foolishness of men. It also serves as a testimony that Jesus is coming back. Denying death does not stop death. Refusing to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and His return is imminent does not change the fact that He is and He is coming. Scoffers are fools. Saints are looking. Which are you?