By Brannon Howse

The Scripture: But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 

The Twist: The Lord may have taken six days or six thousand years to make the earth—or maybe even several million years. After all, with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

     This verse has absolutely nothing to do with creation. The 2 Peter verse is merely saying that God is not bound by time. He stands outside of all creation, including time. For a fuller context, look at the verse that follows:  

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

The main purpose of 3:8, then, is to declare that God is patient and that He is willing to delay His coming so more people may come to Christ. In other words, the Lord is not bound by time—after all, He created it—and will wait if necessary for more to come to Him in faith and repentance. 

Psalm 90:4 also teaches that God is outside of, or not bound by, time: “For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night.” This verse is not taking about a watch like you wear on your wrist, of course. It’s referring to someone who keeps watch at night and, thus, marks a block of time. The moment is here and then is gone. This suggests that a thousand years is a short period of time to God; it is insignificant. 

A day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day. It’s a statement about who God is, not about how He created the world. 

Copyright 2014 ©Brannon Howse. This content is for Situation Room members and is not to be duplicated in any form or uploaded to other websites without the express written permission of Brannon Howse or his legally authorized representative.