On Easter Sunday, Pastor Josh White delivered a powerful message on God’s perspective of time as we await the return of Christ. Drawing from 2 Peter 3:4-10, Pastor Josh walked us through three key considerations that reshape how we think about Christ’s coming — and how we live today.
1. God’s Perspective on Time
Peter opens with a profound reminder: “With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day” (2 Peter 3:8, quoting Psalm 90:4). God created time, space, and matter — so His perspective on it is fundamentally different from ours. What seems like a long delay to us is just a moment to God. We must not confine an infinite God to our finite understanding of time.
“What might seem like a long time for us is just a moment for God — it just happened yesterday.”
— Pastor Josh White
2. God’s Use of Time
Some were accusing God of being slow. Peter’s response? God isn’t slow — He’s patient. And He’s not wasting time — He’s preparing the world for Christ’s return, just as He prepared it for His first coming.
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”
— Galatians 4:4
God used the Greek Empire to spread a common language (Greek) and the Roman Empire to bring peace and build roads. When the time was full, Christ came. The same is happening now — world events are setting the stage for Christ’s return. Romans 11:25 speaks of “the fullness of the Gentiles.” When that time is filled up, Jesus comes back.
Technology has only reinforced this. Prophecies about digital currency and the ability to control buying and selling (Revelation 13) were incomprehensible just decades ago. Today? We see it taking shape in real time.
3. God’s Patience Means Salvation
This is the most important point: God’s delay is intentional — and it means more people will be saved.
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
— 2 Peter 3:9
When Christ was born, the world’s population was around 200–400 million — roughly the size of the modern United States. Today, there are over 8 billion people on Earth. If God had returned Christ immediately after the Resurrection, none of us would exist — and billions who came to faith over the past 2,000 years would have no hope of eternity with Christ. God’s patience means salvation for more people.
First Timothy 2:3-4 confirms this: “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Bonus: The 7,000 Year Theory
Pastor Josh shared something that many had never heard — a theory held by several early church fathers (including the author of the Epistle of Barnabas, Irenaeus in AD 180, and Hippolytus in AD 205). The theory: God’s six-day creation pattern represents 6,000 years of human history, with the seventh day representing the 1,000-year Millennial Kingdom of Christ on Earth.
If scholars are right that we’re approaching the end of the 6,000-year window — and that window may close around 2030, exactly 2,000 years after Christ’s death and resurrection — then we may be closer than we think.
“In six days the Lord created all things; it follows that in six thousand years all will be fulfilled.”
— Irenaeus, AD 180
This is a theory, not dogmatic teaching — but it’s worth considering as we think about the urgency of the Gospel.
So What?
James 5:7-8 tells us to be patient, to establish our hearts, because “the coming of the Lord is at hand.” In God’s mind, it’s just tomorrow.
Galatians 6:9-10 gives us our marching orders:
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
— Galatians 6:9-10
God’s patience is not our excuse to procrastinate — it’s His invitation to join His mission. We don’t know when Christ will return, but we know He’s right on schedule. So let’s make the most of every opportunity to share the Gospel, serve one another, and point people to the hope we have in Christ.
Scripture References
- 2 Peter 3:4-10 — The Day of the Lord will come like a thief
- Psalm 90:4 — One day is as a thousand years with the Lord
- Galatians 4:4 — When the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son
- Romans 11:25 — Until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in
- First Timothy 2:3-4 — God desires all people to be saved
- John 6:39 — Jesus raises us up on the last day
- John 11:24 — Martha knows the resurrection will be on the last day
- James 5:7-8 — Be patient; the coming of the Lord is at hand
- Galatians 6:9-10 — Do good; don’t grow weary