I wrote this essay in December 2020 for a class about the New Testament. The essay is written for a Latter-day Saint Christian audience, but anyone can enjoy it, I hope. If you have questions about the claims I make or the sources I cite, feel free to ask!
Note: Exegesis is the act of analyzing a text and trying to understand what the authors meant when they wrote it. Eisegesis is the act of analyzing a text from an outside perspective and trying to apply it to your own life. Both are valuable methods of interpreting scripture, and the goal of this essay was to analyze a passage from the New Testament using both exegesis and eisegesis.
Preparing for Christ's Return
Introduction
The second epistle of Peter warns Christians of false prophets and incorrect teachings. Among the "destructive heresies" of the false prophets (2 Peter 2:1, NIV) was the idea that Jesus was not coming again. In this essay, we will discuss Peter's response to that idea as found in 2 Peter 3:8–10. This passage gives us three things to keep in mind: one, that God has a different perspective of time from ours; two, that any seeming delays in God's work are for our own benefit, giving us time to repent and become holy; and three, that we should be prepared for Christ's coming regardless of how long it seems to take.
Exegesis
At the time of Peter's letter, it had been about thirty years since Christ's ascension to heaven. Prophets taught that Jesus would return very soon, and members of the early church expected that it would happen at any day. However, because it had been multiples decades, some were doubting that it would happen at all, and they were turning to sin. Peter reminds his audience, "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness" (3:9). The Lord is not breaking his promise, Peter says, nor is he slow in delivering on it.
The Lord understands time differently than we do. The number 1000 in Biblical contexts is not strictly literal; rather, it denotes a long period of time. Through this symbolism, Peter explains that God views time from a different perspective, and that many years' passage would constitute a short period of time for God. Thus, when the Lord says to prepare because he is coming soon, he is not a liar, no matter how long the time may seem from our mortal perspective. Peter juxtaposes the human understanding of time with God's understanding of time, and thus remind his readers that their perspective is not God's. They should trust in God rather than getting impatient or doubting his promises.
Not only should we not be impatient with God, but we should be grateful for his patience with us. Peter gives a specific reason that the Second Coming has not yet occurred: "[The Lord] is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (3:9). This statement turns the people's impatience back on them, implying that God is the only one with a right to impatience. But because he is good and merciful, he is patient with us, and he wants everyone to repent. According to Peter, the Second Coming has not happened yet because God is giving people time to come to him and accept his grace.
God gives us this time to act, so having extra time is no excuse to be spiritually stagnant. The Lord will come, Peter promises, but it will be unexpected. It will be "as a thief in the night" (3:10, KJV), and we must be ready to receive him at any moment. Waiting for Christ does not simply mean waiting, but preparing. "You ought to live holy and godly lives," Peter tells the Christians (3:11, NIV). Rather than getting impatient, rather than turning to sin, Christians should be living in holiness and preparing for Christ's return.
Eisegesis
The concept of God's eternal perspective is repeated throughout Latter-day Saint scripture. "A thousand years in [God's] sight are like a day," says Psalm 90:4. Furthermore, in a revelation to Joseph Smith, the Lord says, "All [things] are one year with God, but not with man" (D&C 88:44). These passages are meant to be mostly figurative, focusing on the knowledge and power of God rather than on specific time frames. However, Latter-day Saints teach a literal thousand-year Millennium after Christ's coming. Because of this view of the Millennium, I first understood 2 Peter 3:8 to be literal. I thought that perhaps this scripture was the answer to the creationism debate, and that it was evidence that the earth wasn't created in six 24-hour periods but in six thousand-year periods. I quickly discovered that no Biblical scholar reads the verse that way, and besides, six thousand years is still much shorter than scientific estimates about the life of the earth. I now read 2 Peter 3:8 as a figurative expression of God's eternal knowledge. I also wonder if the Millennium will be not exactly one thousand years but rather a long period of Christ's reign on the earth.
Regardless of literal or figurative interpretations, however, the underlying message is the same: God views time in a higher perspective than we do. Furthermore, he is mercifully giving us a space to repent and come unto him before the Second Coming. The focus should be on his mercy and our development, not on the exact ratio of God's time to ours. We should be patient and longsuffering, as the Lord is with us, while life goes on and we walk the path of holiness. We should prepare for the Second Coming, regardless of whether it happens in our lifetime or happens another two thousand years from now. We have the Spirit with us, directing and sanctifying us, and we should not "procrastinate the day of [our] repentance" (Alma 34:33).
Conclusion
The Christian audience in 2 Peter had been waiting for Christ for thirty years. Christians now have been waiting for Christ for almost two thousand years. That is a large time gap, but 2 Peter 3:8–10 still carries the same meaning for us as it did for the original audience. God has not changed, his promises have not changed, and it is still just as important to repent and prepare for the time when Jesus will return to the earth. The infinite power of God is a source of hope, for we know he can and will choose the perfect time for Christ's return. We can trust in God, and through his grace we can prepare for the glorious day of the Second Coming.
Note: I made the claim that 2 Peter 3 doesn't relate to the creationism debate, but I didn't go any further than that. If you're curious, though, I can talk a bit more about my views on creation. I'm inclined to say that scientific theories are a good form of discovering how the Lord did his marvelous work. Plus, leaders of my church have taught that a "day" as mentioned in Genesis refers to "a period of time." My church actually has three scriptural accounts of the creation story, and in one of them the word "time" is used instead of "day" (first time, second time, etc). All that being said, I know that there are some Christians who strongly believe that "day" refers to a 24-hour period, and I don't want to demean anyone who believes that.
