Doesn't The Bible Say That With The Lord,

A Day Is As A Thousand Years?

Yes, 2 Peter 3:8 says, "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." But, what does that mean? Don't just read words, interpret.

What is the context? Really, before reading on, read the context. Better yet read the whole book! It won't take long. Then come back and continue.

Really, stop and read it!

Okay, what is the context? Peter is writing to encourage his readers to faithfulness. They are already enduring "the fiery ordeal" and the temptation is to abandon their faith. Like the Hebrews in the wilderness, some are clamoring for a return to Egypt (Judaism). They believe God has brought them into the wilderness to die. They think He has forgotten His promises.

The point Peter is making is that God is faithful. It doesn't matter if the promise in view is near (one day) or far off (a thousand years), He will be faithful to perform all He promised right on time.

This passage does not teach that since God is omnipresent in all time and space there is no difference between one day and a thousand years. God is not time bound, but when He speaks to His people regarding things in their time, He uses real time references.

Also, this passage does not teach a time formula (i.e. 1 day = 1,000 years). Even though doing this has embarrassed a number of end time prognosticators, some still do it. Don't make that mistake.

Let the context tell you how to interpret this passage! THEY were looking for Christ's appearing in their generation. How manipulative and foolish Peter would be to act as though Christ's coming was imminent while knowing that it was still thousands of years away. What kind of encouragement would that be?

They were to take heart because God is faithful to His promises. If Christ said He was coming in that generation, He was coming in that generation. Don't lose hope! That is the message.

Our problem is that we misunderstand the nature of His coming and then attempt to make scripture conform to our misunderstanding. It is far more glorious to let scripture speak for itself and rejoice with those who witnessed His coming in judgment against the system that had oppressed them for generations.

The kingdom came and the liberty it brought them, blesses us for all eternity.

©Copyright 2003 ~ Jim Wade