There are 38 globally observed time zones. We can actually fly from one time zone to another and arrive before we left. The idea of time is man’s invention starting with the sunrise and with sunset. We have appointments to keep. We have obligations connecting schedules. We are so anchored in time that we are prone to lose patience with God for not answering our prayers when we think he should.
Using our text and knowing the nature of humans, some people mock the idea of Jesus returning to earth. Other people ignore the concept of Jesus being present here with us and go on with their lives. In both cases they are ignorant of the Word of God. Many cultures of man include the story of a great worldwide flood that came in God’s time as judgment for sinful living. Yet, today’s society has no room in its corporal memory to learn lessons from the past. There are promised warnings about God’s plans to renovate the earth by fire. These are ignored by most today.
We take note that time is irrelevant to God. He is never in a hurry. He is never late. To think of a thousand years and one day being synonymous we are brought to a unique understanding about eternity. When we are with Jesus, there is no future time. Everything is a continuous NOW. We have no need to make plans. There will be no disappointments because things don’t occur as we assume they should.
This is the reason that Jesus came when he did; born in a manger. He intervened into man’s history just at the right time. In the same way, what we call future judgments will occur when God believes that now is the right time. He is patient in his own way, unique to his own personality, directed by how he intends to respond to mankind. What may seem as ignoring time by God is really his desire to give every single human being the opportunity to come to repentance.
God’s timetable is not coordinated by a certain day and hour. His intention is for men to realize their helplessness without him. Our future destiny is fictitious when we put off gaining a relationship with the Lord. We are in a state of limbo because of the desire to hold on to sin. He has shared with us in Scripture what will happen eventually. When those things happen, they will occur according to his purpose, not his timing. The reason that a thousand years and one day can be interchangeable is that God does not operate on man’s schedule. Surrounding our text are words of warning and prediction all of which we must heed. The Christian priority should be like God’s that none should perish, and all come to repentance in the here and now.
