That there will be final appearance before God and a final judgment is obviously taught in the Bible. It is not that in some vague way, open to various interpretations, that somehow men might be brought into His presence. The Scriptures are filled with clear statements which leave no doubt about that final judgment.
Listen to the finality of these words from heaven. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor 5:10). “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Rom. 14:10). “He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31). It is an eternal truth that it will happen.
In view of how sick and spiritually depraved our world has become, why has He not already come? There were those in the first century who thought He should have come and concluded that the Lord had made a promise to return and failed to keep it. In Peter’s second epistle, he writes about this and then gives the reason why He had not come in their day. It is the same reason He has not returned in our day.
There were those who looked around them and concluded that “…since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were” (2 Pet. 3:4). Peter said that those who were saying this had forgotten what had happened in the past. They had done it on purpose (v. 5). It is so easy to fail to see the big picture of God’s dealings with man. The apostle pointed them to the flood in Noah’s day. God’s view of that ancient world was vastly different from those who heard Noah’s preaching. God kept His promise, and the flood came!
Why did He delay? Read God’s words about this question, and you will have a better understanding about the reason He has not come even in our day. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). Think of it in these terms. There was room on the ark for many more than Noah and his family, but not one single person wanted to “purchase the ticket.”
The implication of these truths? We live in a world where it is widely believed that the world has nothing to do with a Creator but is the result of an evolutionary process. God has made us, and we live, walk and have our very existence because of Him (Acts 17:28). Why does He delay of the final judgment? Because He is not willing that any should perish. He waits as we try to teach those around us. He has delayed His return because He is waiting for us to tell others about sin and salvation. He is counting on us. We must not fail to be part of saving just one more soul for Him.