He canĭo the work of a thousand years in one day: so in 2Pe 3:9 it is said, He is equally blessed in one day and in a thousand years. Not long delays for the performance of His work: His long-sufferingĮxcludes all impatient expectation and eager haste, such as we menįeel. His divine knowledge all future things are present: His power requires His eternity exceeds all measures of time: to
Long in coming, but with the Lord the interval is irrespective of the Relation to the last day: that day seems to us, short-lived beings,
Knowing no distinction between a thousand years and a day, is the It, and far more influence upon the spiritual destiny of mankind, thanĪny period of a thousand years. Saviour's death, may have far more of intense action compressed into Time and even we can understand that one day, as the day of the His thought is not, like ours, subject to the law of Or like a watch in the night." (New International Version)įor further info, please read below commentaries: God is eternal "A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, Ordinary day, never a long period of time.īut they forget the fact that the passage is actually contrasting a short and long period can be shown by the fact that Peter is quoting Psalm 90:4 (Peter’s statement ‘do not forget’ implies that his readers were expected to recall something, and this passage has this very teaching). Whenever yôm is used in such a context, it is always an ‘evening’ and ‘morning’, and the days are numbered (first day, secondĭay, etc.). In any case, the meaning of ‘day’ in Genesis 1 is defined by the context there-the Hebrew word for day, yôm יום, is used with the words Some people teach that the days of Genesis might be 1000 years. Which means for the heavenly beings there is no distinction between a thousand years and a day, therefore the time is just an illlusion. The text says ‘one day is like a thousand years’-the word ‘like’ (or ‘as’) teach that Lord ( κυρίῳ) is outside of time as we know it. My view is that these events are fully correlated in Peters mind and he means both equally. 1:16 refers to the earlier "coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" and 3:12 to "the coming of the day of God" (a long-standing prophetic theme). Peter could be referring to Jesus or to God.
In other words, He does not experience it in a linear fashion as we do, but is able to interact with time as He chooses. The exact timespans chosen ('one day' and 'a thousand years') are immaterial and symbolic of short and long periods in this context, making the point that God transcends time. The logic of the specific verse in question is that using merely human standards of the comprehension of the passage of time and applying them to God is inappropriate. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. Then he argues that they are myopic in their view of time:ĨBut do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 7But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 4They will say, “ Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” ESVįirstly, Peter asserts they are wrong about the eventual outcome:ĥFor they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. The 'scoffers' of earlier in the chapter are questioning whether God will return at all, given the apparent delay:ģknowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. Peter is urging his audience to regard God as 'patient' in regard to bringing about the conclusion of His plan, rather than 'slow', and not to doubt His eventual arrival.