God's Calendar - Man's Clock

by Dennis Michelson
(Painesville, Ohio)

II Peter 3:8-10

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 melt 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.

Introduction: A man came to God one day and asked "what is time like?" God replied that 100 years to him was just like a minute. The man then asked "well then, what is money like?" God stated that to Him a million dollars was like a dime. So the man decided that this would be an excellent time for him to ask the Almighty for a couple of dollars . . .so God replied "sure, wait a minute."

We often get things out of perspective because we tend to pull out a stop watch when God is using a calendar. The passage before us helps put things into a right perspective.

1. The Perspective of the Lord (3:8)

(a) The Lord is eternal and we are temporal

(b) The finite cannot comprehend the infinite - see Isaiah 55:8-9

(c) The Lord responds to conditions, not clocks - compare Genesis 6:3; 15:16 and Matthew 24:14

2. The Promise of the Lord (3:9)

(a) What promise? "I will come again"

(b) When will the promise be fulfilled - the phrase "all should come" holds the key. It means when all have had room to repent. Compare the Greek term here with the same one used in John 8:37.

3. The Purpose of the Lord (3:9)

(a) Wishing none to perish - this is His desirative will, not his decretive will.

(b) Working to bring all to repentance - temper this statement with the truth of John 10:16.

4. The Patience of the Lord (3:9)

(a) His longsuffering is personal

(b) His longsuffering is temporal - the Day of the Lord will come.