In 2 Peter 3, the second answer to those who mock the fact that there appears to be a delay in the Second Coming is that God is not bound by time like you and me (vv. 8-9). This truth is stated in two ways. First, “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (v. 8). Such an assertion could not be made if God was bound by time in the same way that humans live by the ticking of the clock. With this in mind, it is impossible to accuse God of delay in keeping His promise for His Son to return. We need to look at things from God’s perspective and not just the human vantage point. Second, as a result, we cannot claim that God is a slacker (v. 9). The NKJV verb slack means to hesitate, delay, or go slow. It is translated by the English word slow in the NASB95. The idea is that God is not behind in the timing of His plan but is right on schedule. At this point, we can say that the first two reasons given to show that God does not delay (earth is reserved for an appointed judgment and God is not bound by time like we are) actually point to the truth that there is absolutely no delay from God’s point of view. The delay is only a perception from the human perspective.
How long has it been since Jesus promised to return? If we calculate from today’s year of 2024 going back to AD 32, it has been 1992 years since the promise. But notice other examples in the Bible:
- The death of Ahaz was predicted around three years before it was fulfilled.
- The death of Jezebel was predicted around twenty years before fulfillment.
- Isaiah predicted the Babylonian invasion of Judah around 120 years before it actually occurred.
- The First Coming of Christ was predicted as the seed of the women in Genesis 3:15. This promise was made at least 4000 years before Jesus shows up on earth to deal with sin.
- The prophet Daniel predicted the coming of the Messiah over 560 years before He came.
- Isaiah 53 predicts the death of Messiah for sin over 700 years before Jesus died on the Cross.
- Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple almost forty years before it actually occurred.
- After the destruction of Israel in AD 70, it was 1878 years before Israel became a nation again in 1948. Scripture foretells in many of the prophets of a future restoration of national Israel. Many thought that Israel would never again rise to existence as a nation.
All of these examples help to bolster the idea that God is not delayed in sending His Son in the Second Coming.