Mike,

I have a question for you. Many say that there is great significance in 2 Peter 3:8 when considering that from Adam to Christ was 4000 years and that from Christ to now is a little over 3000 years, or the third day. This seems plausible in that three is the number of the process of spiritual completion. I do know this, that Christ is revealing the truth of sonship to his elect in these days we live. I’m sure you are finding that commentators and bible scholars in the past, and even now, are blind to these things.

Here’s my question. Do you see any validity to the statement that we may be in the third day? While I would not dare to gauge God’s plan for the ages in what I might be experiencing, it does seem to hold some scriptural support. What say you?

Your servant in Christ,
D____

Hi D____,

Thank you for your question.

You say:

Many say that there is great significance in 2 Peter 3:8 when considering that from Adam to Christ was 4000 years and that from Christ to now is a little over 3000 years, or the third day.

I will assume that you meant to type “from Christ to now is a little over 2000 years, or the third day”.

Here is that verse of scripture:

2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Now let’s look at this verse in the context of the verses around it, and let’s ask ourselves if Peter’s point is that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand year”, or is his point that “a thousand years [is] as one day”?

2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

So this statement is made as it relates to “the day of judgment”, which is also called here by Peter, “the day of the Lord”. When is this “day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men… day of the Lord which comes as a thief in the night?”

Act 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all [ye] that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
Act 2:15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is [but] the third hour of the day.
Act 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Act 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
Act 2:18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
Act 2:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Act 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

Peter is relating all the events surrounding the death and resurrection of Christ, and he is claiming that all of “this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel… it shall come to pass in the last days… the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come.”

Christ had already told the apostles the same thing. Notice what Christ’s answer was to the question by His disciples, “What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?”

Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Mat 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here [is] Christ, or there; believe [it] not.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25 Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, [he is] in the secret chambers; believe [it] not.
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh:
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

So here is Christ saying the same thing Peter says a few weeks later at the day of Pentecost. “After the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” Only Peter is telling us that when Christ says, “This generation will not pass, till all these things be fulfilled,” what he meant was “It is near even at the door” meaning beginning at the day of Pentecost and “never passing away” but being fulfilled in the lives of all of God’s elect from that time to this day.

The point being made by both Christ and Peter is that the day of judgment is now on the house of God, and the day of the Lord is now come to those who are being judged.

Now let’s look again at 2 Peter 2:

2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

These words about “the day of judgment… the day of the Lord” are meant to be understood, and Peter used them on the day of Pentecost, as he had just used them in his previous epistle, which, in both cases are understood as referring to events in the lives of believers of every generation. Peter knew fully well what he meant when he said, “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” Peter knew exactly for whom Christ had died. Peter knew who had denied their own Lord three times immediately after vowing to die with Him. Peter knew that “the day of judgment was already here and being executed upon and bringing about the perdition of such ungodly men. So he tells us all clearly that “the fiery… day of judgment at the time of the end” is right now on the house of God.

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Was the day of Pentecost really the beginning of “the end of the world” [Greek: aion, age], for all who comprise “the house of God”? What do the scriptures teach us? Here is “the seventh day” for all who are in Christ.

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them [ancient Israel] for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

“The ends of the world ARE come” upon us, and that has been the case since the day of Pentecost.

Now here is the only “seventh day” with which any true Christian should concern himself:

Heb 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Heb 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Heb 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
Heb 4:5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Heb 4:6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
Heb 4:7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Heb 4:8 For if Jesus [Greek: Joshua, savior] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God [did] from his.
Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

“We which have believed do enter into [His seventh day] rest” simply because Christ is our sabbath, passover, days of unleavened bread, Pentecost, trumpets, day of atonement, tabernacles and last great day, and if Christ is in us and we are in Him, then we need not concern ourselves with “days, month, times or years”.

Gal 4:10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Gal 4:11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

Should we concern ourselves with dates at all? What does Christ teach us?

Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Yes, the Greek is ‘anxious thought’, just the kind of thoughts that those who are all caught up in dates are filled with.

I hope all these scriptures serve to help you to see that Christ wants us all to consider “the time of the end” to have been here with His elect ever since the beginning of the New Testament church. I hope you can now see and understand that the abomination of desolation, the preaching of the gospel to the whole world… [as well as] the time of the end”, are all within us and have all been being fulfilled within us “upon whom the ends of the world [aions] have come”, ever since the day Christ gave His so- called “Olivet prophecy” in Matthew 24.

Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
Mat 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Mat 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here [is] Christ, or there; believe [it] not.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25 Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe [it] not.
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh:
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [even] at the doors.
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

“Let him that reads understand” that “then shall the end come… the abomination of desolation… the great tribulation… the heavenly signs… the sign of the Son of Man in heaven; all these things shall be fulfilled in this generation… [because] my words shall not pass away” but will be applicable in every generation within the heavens, the hearts and minds of God’s few chosen, elect. Read What and Where Is Heaven? in the essential reading section in the upper left corner of the iswasandwillbe.com home page.

Having said all that, the scriptures teach us about what should be our priorities. Let me be quick to add that this time of being “sealed with the holy spirit of promise” will soon enough come to its predestined end, and “the ends of the world,” which have been coming upon God’s chosen few for the past 2000 years, will soon enough be consummated, and a millennial reign will begin. In the meantime, God’s chosen few elect have slowly been adding up, over all the generations since Christ, to the sum of those who will rise up in that blessed and holy first resurrection, to rule and reign with Christ for one thousand years, and then to rule and reign with Him over the end harvest in the symbolic lake of fire.

This is as certain as the rising of the sun, but this is not the emphasis or the kind of “time of the end” emphasized by Christ or any of His apostles. What is emphasized is the fact that “this generation [who reads and understands] shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.”

Do I believe in a seventh day, a third day since Christ? Oh, yes, I certainly do, but as Hebrew 4 makes very clear, that day has been here with us, ever since our true “seventh day”, Christ, has died for our sins.

Heb 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.

“The works were finished from the foundation of the world” tells us that not only is a day as a thousand years, with God, but the part that seems so little emphasized is that a thousand years is also said to be “as a day” with God, and “the day of the Lord… and the day of judgment, as well as Christ, our rest, the seventh day”, have been being lived out in the lives of God’s elect for the past 2000 years.

That is the only “seventh day” with which I will concern myself at this time, and thereby I will “take no anxious thought of the morrow…” as my Lord has clearly instructed me.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike