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Response
“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” «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. », (2 Peter 3:8).
The context is crucial in determining the accurate interpretation of this passage, particularly the comparison of a thousand years to one day. The context of 2 Peter 3 revolves around the Lord’s return to rescue His people. Peter informs the persecuted believers that scoffers will arise and ridicule the notion of the Lord’s return. They may express doubts like, “He’s been absent for so long; He won’t return at all” (see verse 4). As Christians face persecution and eagerly await the Lord’s deliverance, it may seem like His return is taking a long time.
Peter encourages the believers not to lose hope because God operates on a different timetable. For humans, if something doesn’t occur within a few years, we may lose hope. However, God is not bound by the same time constraints because “with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” Time is irrelevant to God because He has an infinite amount of it. To an average person, the difference between a penny and a dime in a store may not matter, even though one is ten times more valuable than the other. Similarly, if a billionaire intends to purchase a property, the price difference between $50,000, $500,000, or even $5,000,000 may be insignificant to him. This is the essence of the verse—both a day and a thousand years are such tiny increments of time to God that they hold no significance to Him.
When a person makes a promise, there is a limited timeframe within which they must fulfill that promise.
Mise. If an elderly father promises to buy his son a home, there is a limited amount of time available to him. As year after year passes and he does not buy the home, the son may begin to wonder if he ever will. Ultimately, if the father dies before keeping the promise and does not leave the son anything in his will, then the promise has expired. We must not look at the promises of God through the lens of human time. If God is working a plan that will take ten thousand years to unfold, it is no different to Him than if His plan took 10 days to unfold. The point of 2 Peter 3 is that, no matter how long it takes, God will keep His word—”the Lord is not slow in keeping his promises” (verse 8)—specifically, He will return one day to judge the world and rescue His people. The fact that it has not happened yet is absolutely no indication that He will not do it. As people with eternal life, Christians need to adopt an eternal perspective on time. We have all eternity before us to receive the promises of God. We need not fret if it looks like our lives may end before we get everything we have been promised. If the Lord does not come back for another 50,000 years, that is less than two months (sixty “days”), using a literal reckoning of verse 8. The main point is that, given the amount of time available to God, time is just not a concern.
Some who hold to old earth creationism use 2 Peter 3:8 to bolster their view that the “days” of Genesis 1 were not literal days but long eons of time. If “a day is like a thousand years,” the reasoning goes, then the word day in the creation narrative cannot mean a literal, twenty-four-hour day. The problem is that God is not attempting to redefine our words in 2 Peter 3:8. Peter does not say that one day is a thousand years; he says that one day is like a thousand years. In other words, he is using figurative language to make his point. The point is not that we should interpret the word day as “a thousand years” everywhere we find it in Scripture; rather, the point i
It is a reminder that the passing of time does not affect God’s faithfulness to His promises. He remains “the same yesterday and today and forever” «Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. », (Hebrews 13:8). Additionally, the day-age theory suggests a creation period of more than 6,000 years in the “week” of creation.
Some individuals misinterpret 2 Peter 3:8 by treating it as a literal, mathematical calculation. Supporters of young earth creationism estimate Earth to be approximately 6,000 years old or, based on the mathematical calculation in 2 Peter 3:8, about six “days.” Since seven symbolizes perfection and completion, some speculate that all of human history will span one week—seven days (7,000 years). The millennial kingdom of 1,000 years represents the seventh day of rest. As the seventh day is yet to come and will be initiated by the Lord’s return, and considering we have already experienced 6 days on Earth, some conclude that the Lord’s return is imminent. Some even attempt to pinpoint specific dates—an endeavor that is always futile.
Although the “seven-day theory” may seem appealing given our current position in history—around 6,000 years in, or close to the end of the sixth day—it contradicts the essence of the verse. The main message of the passage is that we cannot predict the timing of the Lord’s return because He operates on a different schedule. We must patiently wait, understanding that the Lord “is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” «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. », (2 Peter 3:9). Verse 8 does not provide a hidden formula for us to determine His return. If that were the case, it would miss the entire point.
If that were the case, it would seem that Peter would have been able to figure it out and could have simply told the persecuted believers that the Lord would return in about 2,000 years. He didn’t do that because he didn’t know when the Lord would return. And neither do we. We need to wait as patiently for the Lord as the persecuted believers of the first century did and, like them, “live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God” (verses 11–12).
