Let’s read that interesting passage: “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 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. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (NKJV).

In verses 3-4 the apostle Peter had warned the saints “that scoffers will come in the last days…saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation’.” When the Lord Jesus was here the first time (2,000 years ago) He promised to return and that the world would be judged. It is this promise that men scoff at, for according to their “human reasoning” His promise is a hoax since centuries have rolled by and yet He has not fulfilled His promise. They add to their false logic the argument that “all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation”; in other words, God has never judged the whole world before so why would He do it now? In verses 5-6 Peter corrects that line of thinking by saying, “For this they willfully forget…the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.” Men refuse to believe that God DID judge the world with a universal flood! And verse 7 tells us God will destroy the earth again: “But the heavens and the earth which are now…are reserved for fire until the Day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”

In verse 8 Peter offers another word to correct the false reasoning of men. Not only do men forget that God has judged the world before, but they forget that God doesn’t count time like man does. To us, 2,000 years is a very long time (especially considering the average life-span of a man is approximately 70 years), but from God’s vantage point those 2,000 years are like 2 days! Let’s remember that God is “outside of time”; as we see in Isaiah 57:15, “For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity.” Because He is eternal, His concept of time is vastly different from ours. Again, according to God, it’s only been 2 days since the Lord Jesus promised to return to judge the world.

In light of this truth, verse 9 tells us “the Lord is not SLACK (which means “slow”) concerning His promise.” Men consider this long interval of time as God being “slow” or “tardy,” but in truth God is simply being “patient” because He’s “not willing that any should perish.” Praise God for His patience, for I often think, “Would if He had come before I was born, or if I had been born, would if He had come before I was saved?” I praise Him that He waited long enough for me to realize I was a sinner in need of a Savior, and for His grace that led me to believe on His Son as my Savior.

Finally, in verse 10 we learn that “the day of the Lord will come as thief in the night.” Because men scoff at His coming and refuse to believe that the world will be judged, His coming will take them completely by surprise. A thief comes to rob us, and all Christ-rejecters will be robbed of their delusions that they are not accountable to God and that they can live as they please. We had already seen that “one day is as a thousand years” to the Lord, and the “day of the Lord” will indeed last 1,000 years. It will include His judgment of His enemies at the beginning of the 1,000 years (see 2nd Thessalonians 1:6-9), His rule over the whole earth for 1,000 years (see Revelation 20:1-6), and the final destruction of the heavens and the earth at the end of the 1,000 years (verse 10 along with Hebrews 12:26-27 and Revelation 20:11 & 21:1). (250.10) (DO)