Written by Paul J Bucknell on April, 27, 2024

2 Peter 3:8 “One Day is Like A Thousand Years”

A critique of ‘one day equals a thousand years’ interpretation.

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. (2 Peter 3:8 NASB)

We will provide an interpretation of 2 Peter 3:8 and critique a group that wrongly interprets this verse.

1) An Interpretation of 2 Peter 3:8

We aim to provide insight into what the author, Peter, meant and intended to communicate. The historical-grammatical interpretational method considers the context and respects the purpose.

The Context (2 Peter 3:1-10)

A quick reading of 2 Peter 3 shows that Peter is stirred up to clarify (“know this first of all”) that many false teachers would come. “Know this first of all, that in the last days, mockers will come with their mocking…” (2 Pet 3:3).

¹ This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ² that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles. ³ Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:1-4)

People jeered at God’s people for following the scriptures and for believing in the coming judgment—the Day of the Lord. They followed their lusts and scoffed at contrary mindsets that would expose their evil behavior.

Peter, however, insisted, “But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men” (2 Pet 3:7). At this point, the apostle partially quotes an Old Testament passage, saying, “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day” (2 Pet 3:8).

Peter rebukes the scoffers who deny Jesus’ return and Judgment Day by explaining the reason for the delay (to save the lost—3:9). But first, he states that God is not bound to time like man. What scoffers think is a long time is not long for God.

The Obvious Meaning of 2 Peter 3:8

2 Peter 3:8 is not hard to understand.

“But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day” (2 Peter 3:8).

Peter states a fact or settled truth about God. “But do not let this one fact escape your notice.” There is no second way to understand God, that is. Though Peter doesn’t mention God’s eternality, he points out that God doesn’t live bound by time like we do. People who know God understand that He created the heavens, earth, and time (Gen 1-2)! God created the sun and moon by which we form our days, months, and calendars. All this is settled. Peter mentions this truth to settle possible doubts arising from the scoffers’ remarks.
“Beloved” is a particular term of endearment used for God’s people whom He has favored. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for them and extend His kingdom through them.
Mockers will come. “Mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts” (2 Pet 3:3). We live in the last days (2 Pet 3:3; Heb 1:2) with its mockers. Believers ought not to be surprised by false prophets. Starting in verse 10, Peter speaks about the new heavens and earth following “the day of the Lord,” which will reprove the mockers. He will come and bring judgment upon these scoffers.
Peter presents a simile, shown by the twice-used “like” in this verse. A simile is “a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that are often introduced by like or as (as in cheeks like roses)” (Mirriam-Webster). Peter does not say one thousand years equals one day. Instead, he twice says it is “like”.… He is comparing two unlike things.
“That with the Lord” indicates the Lord’s perspective. This is Peter’s point—God’s view is very different from man’s, and therefore, He does things differently from us. We, or the scoffers, live one day at a time.
“One day is like a thousand years” and “a thousand years like one day.” This simile expresses that they are the same before God. God stands outside of time. A thousand years is like a mere day; there is no essential difference for Him.

As a point of commentary, believers should know that time does not restrain God. He can and does step into earth’s time and affairs anytime He pleases. He did this when He sent Jesus, His only Son, into the world—“the fullness of the time came”(Gal 4:4).

As to when Jesus will return, we should not conclude God is like man and in a hurry to judge. If so, He would have judged mankind long ago. God did not immediately take away Adam and Eve’s physical life when they sinned, only their spiritual life. God follows His more significant purpose of saving the lost. Practically, because Jesus has delayed His return, many millions—including us—are now saved and part of His growing family. But this open door is closing fast.

The Greater Context of 2 Peter 3:8

Before providing a critique, let’s affirm our understanding through Peter’s undoubtable reference to the Old Testament. 2 Peter 3:8 seems primarily drawn from Psalm 90:4.

“For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by, or as a watch in the night” (Psalm 90:4).

Psalm 90:4 confirms time’s relativity—as far as God is concerned. However, the Psalmist makes a few differences.

The Psalmist doesn’t say “like a day” but “are like yesterday.” This use of “yesterday” intensifies the relativity and brevity. In other words, day is used not because it is 24 hours long but because it describes a fast time period for man.
This mention of yesterday as a reference to a very fast period is further illustrated by the watch in the night.

Though written slightly differently, Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8 illustrate the fast passing of time with what we think is an unimaginable long period of time—a thousand years. Peter does not want us to be shaken by false teachers, for Judgment Day is fast approaching.

2) The Critique of Wrong 2 Peter 3:8 Interpretation

Interpretation is fun; it’s part of Bible meditation. However, it’s easy to get carried away with our interpretations. They become outright dangerous when we turn our interpretations into dogma, doctrine, or, in this case, 2 Peter 3:8, into an interpretational principle.

For example, one group, Messiah 2030, has based a good portion of their four-hour presentation on the prediction of when Christ will return on their interpretation of 2 Peter 3:8: “one day as a thousand years” idea.” This misleads in several ways:

People will miss the truth of 2 Peter 3:8—the real reason Peter spoke it.
People will assume this prophetical interpretation principle is biblical and can misuse it.
Once accepted, it will be used to justify poor interpretations and false theological conclusions.

So, what is the thousand-year prophetic principle? In many passages, they say “one day” means exactly one thousand years, making them prophetical in nature. Based on this interpretational viewpoint, they will consider three or seven days used in a Bible passage to mean three thousand or seven thousand years. They reinterpret many Bible passages this way, making them “prophetical.” There are no objective markers for applying their principle to the Bible verses they cite except that they support their position. I’ll point out one below, but first, let’s consider these points.

Peter convinces God’s people that God is not bound to time, even regarding when Jesus returns. This group asserts God has bound Himself to time.
2 Peter 3:8 and Psalm 40:8 use “like” (Greek ‘os’) to convey a simile. “Like” and “is” are pretty different. Peter uses this extreme comparison to illustrate how vastly different God’s perspective is from humans.
Even though the context addresses the Lord's return, Peter and Moses do not hint that this is a secret interpretational principle used to determine the timing.
This group ignores the verse’s double presentation: "A thousand years like one day.” He only uses the alternative side to develop the interpretational principle.
The Old Testament verse from which this comes proves that the proper interpretation revolves around the relativity of time as God regards it. His additional descriptions prove it only highlights how much greater God is than man.

This interpretational principle of a thousand years is flawed. It is not taught. Peter teaches the opposite—we can’t control the timing of Jesus’ return. The group (they have no spokesperson) alone seems able to determine which passages convey this secret prophetic meaning.

Because the girl Elisha heals sneezes seven times, it confirms the resurrection on the seventh day—which he means seven thousand years:

“Further solidified by the fact that the child sneezes seven times. Seven, of course, connecting directly to our resurrection that is to occur on the 7th day.”

Boaz measured out six measures of barley (Luke 4:10).

“Likewise, using the “Day as a Thousand Years” principle, after six days or 6,000 years, we too will enter into marriage with the Lamb. The Messiah has redeemed us for a wedding just as Boaz redeemed Ruth.”

Whatever happened to our historical-grammatical interpretational method, which teaches us to observe what the author meant and intended to communicate? Peter does not at all communicate this interpretational principle. Why didn’t Peter apply this principle to many other Old Testament passages and figure out the day of Jesus’ return? Peter stated the opposite—only God knows; His thinking is greater than ours.

One Further Thought

I want to be fair. I am not saying that some prophetical passages do not reinterpret time. Daniel is an example. Many interpret the half week(i.e., 3.5 days in the prophecy in Daniel 9:27) as 3.5 years (cf. Rev 11:9,11). These passages must be carefully studied independently; this is not my focus here. The creation framework of six days plus one day of rest may refer to God’s design for earth’s time, but we cannot conclusively state that. We can only assert that God’s Judgment follows time on earth, but it has an end, and eternal rest follows.

Conclusion

The group creates this thousand-year hermeneutical (i.e., interpretational) principle to contort the meaning of many verses (2 Kings 4:33-35; Luke 13:31-35; Ruth 3:15 (pp. 10-12). This “secret” principle hijacks Bible passages and unacceptably uses this numerological hermeneutic to “prove” their interpretation. The ability to “know” this interpretation and when to apply it gives this group dangerous power over those who accept their observations. These verses totally contradict what Peter means in 2 Peter 3:8. Peter wants us to be okay with not knowing when Jesus and Judgment Day come. We can trust God to complete this age as He began it.