A Day is Like a Thousand Years?” and "No One Knows the Day or the Hour – Rethinking 2 Peter 3:8 and Matthew 24:36

A Day is Like a Thousand Years? – Rethinking 2 Peter 3:8

It's one of the most quoted verses in discussions about God's relationship to time: “With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8). Often, this verse is pulled out to suggest that God exists outside of time, that He views time in a completely abstract or nonlinear way, or even to construct elaborate prophetic timelines where a “day” equals a literal thousand years. But is that really what Peter was saying?

In context, 2 Peter 3:8 isn’t a metaphysical statement about God’s nature or a hidden code for prophetic calculations. Instead, it’s a pastoral reassurance—an appeal to trust in God’s timing, even when it seems slow to us. Peter was addressing those who scoffed at the apparent delay of Christ’s return, encouraging believers not to mistake divine patience for forgetfulness or failure. Misreading this verse can lead to distorted theology, where God's actions are seen as arbitrary or detached, rather than purposefully patient and invested in human history.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the context of 2 Peter 3:8, explore how it’s often misunderstood, and recover its true meaning as a powerful message of hope and divine faithfulness.

First we must read 2 Peter 3:8 in its original context in Psalm 90:4. It's not some kind of prophetic formula that people can use to explain things away. We need to be careful not to rip passages out of their proper context.


Psalm 90:4 For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or👉 like a watch in the night👈.”

Make notice of the original audience. You and I are not the original audience.

Psalm 90:4- Moses in the wilderness with the wicked generation (Deut 32:5)- full of scoffers- questioning God's faithfulness of the Promise Land. Moses talking about God's wrath on a dying first generation. 40 years in the wilderness.

2 Peter 3:8- Peter in the spiritual wilderness of Jerusalem with the wicked generation (Acts 2:40)-full of scoffers- questioning God's faithfulness of the Greater Promise Land - New Heavens and Earth. Peter talking about God's wrath in 70 AD. The 144,000 was leaving Apostate Jerusalem ( Spiritual Egypt). 40 years from Jesus' crucifixion (30AD).

Judgment and Consequences – The psalm as a whole laments the frailty of human life under divine judgment. The reference to a "thousand years" could reinforce that while humans fade quickly, God's purposes endure. His decisions, such as letting the disobedient generation die in the wilderness, were not rash but part of His interactive governance over history.

Psalm 90:4 shows God’s endurance, not timelessness – Peter uses the psalm to emphasize that God’s long view of history doesn’t mean He is slow or inactive. Rather, He is deeply involved in human affairs, giving people the opportunity to respond before bringing judgment.




Matthew 24:36
English Standard Version
36 “But concerning that day and hour 👉NO ONE KNOWS👈, not even the angels of heaven, 👉NOR THE SON👈,but 👉THE FATHER ONLY👈


Revelation 1:1
English Standard Version
1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which 👉God GAVE HIM👈 to show to 👉his servants👈the things that must soon take place. 👉He made it KNOWN by sending his angel to 👉his servant John👈.

Revelation 10:11
English Standard Version
11 And 👉I (John) 👈was told, “👉YOU (John)👈 must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”


NOTE: The Father gave Jesus the date/time of the end in Heaven. That end was the end of the old covenant age, not history. The servants included John and his contemporaries at that time, not us .Why send a message to a group of people if nothing was going to happen to them during their lifetime? That would make the Father and Jesus deceptive and unfaithful.


James 5:7-8
English Standard Version

7 Be patient, therefore, 👉brothers👈, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 👉YOU👈 also, be patient. Establish👉 YOUR👈hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

NOTE: You and I are not original audience.


Peter's original audience was expecting the New Heavens and Earth. Notice it says
👉WE👈, not THEY. This is only 5 verses below 2 Peter 3:8.


2 Peter 3:13
English Standard Version
13 But according to his promise
👉WE 👈are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

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