“But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.” 2 Peter 3:8-10 NLT
Time is a physical reality for us, but not for God. Robin and I were just talking about this. The beginning and end of the world all take place at the same “time” with God. God is outside of time, He always was and always will be. But also, every moment of then, now and when is all NOW with Him.
He knows (and has always known) when we pray and ask for something. He has always answered that prayer and knows (and always known) it’s outcome. Nothing sneaks up on God, nothing catches Him by surprise. Throw in our free will or choices in all this and it becomes very difficult to comprehend.
In Peter’s words, one day being a thousand, it’s more like one day and a thousand are all NOW with God. So, this idea of Him being patient should also blow our minds! To us everything to do with waiting for a promise to be fulfilled is painful. But that waiting is learning patience, the Bible word is far more colorful – long suffering.
We wait, God doesn’t.
In our understanding of time and this idea of a past, present and future we can understand that the “delays” in the “Day of the Lord,” finality and judgment of all things are for us, our sake not His. God is not waiting for the end, it’s all happened to him. We wait.
And, I wonder if there is something in all of us that yearns for finality. For believers there is the end, but there is also a new beginning. End of this earth and a new one redesigned to perfection. For non-believers, there is no new, no karma, no oneness with “creation,” not even annihilation or nothingness. It’s judgment and separation from God and all things that connect them with humanity. The Bible calls this place reserved for the devil and fallen angels and those humans desperate to get far away from God – hell.
After the end of all things, when “eternity” begins for those who believe God at His word, I wonder if humans still exist in a framework called time? I think we will, but the Bible doesn’t talk much about what the new heaven and earth will be like in those terms. Or will we be outside of time as well?
The New Testament writers are correct, these things (time & eternity) are not the primary discussion in the gospel or letters to the churches. The main focus is Christ and Christ alone. Christ is God’s grand story and spectacular conclusion, not judgement or hell.
Prayer
Dad,
Of course these are things I never understood and probably will not understand until that moment that I die and cross over to be with you or you come back and wrap this story up! I don’t want to or plan to be separated from you nor experience hell. I didn’t believe trying to escape hell, it was because of your love and grace to adopt me. You chose me, I simply responded with a lifelong YES. I remember thinking as a young man, even if my sin sends me to hell, I planned on loving you from there! I now know that’s not possible, but I wasn’t really disappointed that being “saved” did not stop me from sining. Your love and long suffering is so vast, it’s hard to realize that so many want nothing to do with it. I can’t force them to see it, and I take it that you won’t force it either.