In Genesis, Is 1 Day Equal To 1000 Years?

by Phillip Goodman

RSS Feed digg this Tuesday, July 22 2008 in Creation - Evolution | 0 Comment(s)

Question. When the Bible says that a day is like a thousand years, does that mean that it took many ages for life to evolve after God started it? (letter received from a viewer of Prophecy Watch Television)

Answer. The Scripture says,

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

If this formula is misused to say that the 6 days of Creation really equal to 6000 years, then it can also be used to say that the 1000-year Kingdom of Christ in Revelation 20 is equal to one day! Furthermore, perhaps Christ hasn’t risen yet—after 3 days—because 3000 years has not yet passed. You can see the fallacy in applying this 1000-year/1-day concept apart from its proper context.

The 2 Peter 3:8 passage actually speaks of two time relationships;

One is relative to God’s patience; the other is relative to God’s power. The first means that it is nothing for God’s patience to last a thousand years, whereas man’s might be good for only a day. (see 2 Pet. 3: 9 for the context of the statement; God has been patient for 2000 years now waiting for people to come to Christ!)

The second, relating to God’s power, means that it is nothing for God to create in one day what may take nature a thousand—or million—years! It not only says that with the Lord “one day is as a thousand years,” but it also says that with the Lord “a thousand years is as one day.” It says “with the Lord,” not “with man.” The Lord is outside of man’s timeframe, and not bound by it. However, the timeframe that God placed man in is clearly defined in its own context. Genesis 1 says that the universe was created in 6 days. Each individual day is locked into a morning/evening, day/night, light/dark, Sun/Moon timeframe. Then in 1:14 God declares that the Sun and Moon shall serve as markers for “days and years.” If the “days” are really not days, but 1000-year periods, what are the “years?” Webster’s Dictionary couldn’t have defined “day” more precisely than does Genesis 1.

The context of 2 Peter 3:8 is God’s timeframe. The context of Genesis 1 applies to the earthly timeframe God created for man, and in which He chose to divide His creative work into 6 literal-day segments, as that context makes plain. Once again, if the context is ignored, this passage can also be used to say that the 1000-year Kingdom of Christ in Revelation 20 is equal to one day! And the fallacy of ignoring context continues: perhaps Christ hasn’t risen yet (after 3 days) because 3000 years has not yet passed. The key is keeping things in context.

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