ACC ~ 2 Peter 3 v8

A THOUSAND YEARS AS ONE DAY. EUSEBIUS OF EMESA: Scripture says that human life is short and full of trouble, but you belong to the unseen and eternal one. And a thousand years are like a single day, or even like a watch of the night. It is during the fourth watch that those who are entrusted to guard it are divided, and it was during that watch that the Lord came to the holy apostles. If he has spoken this way about a thousand years, it is clear that the lifespan of a man is extremely short. The day of the Lord is like a thousand years, and yet it is undivided. No one lives for a thousand years, but no one has known a full day of the Lord either. CATENA.

ALL WAS NIGHT BEFORE THE COMING OF THE LORD. ATHANASIUS: A thousand years is the time that the temple worship lasted. For from the completion of the temple by Solomon, who built the Lord’s house until it became redundant when Christ died on the cross is a thousand years. This thousand years is compared to a day, or to a watch in the night, because everything appeared to be night before the coming of the Savior. For until the sun of righteousness arose, everyone dwelt in ignorance and confusion. CATENA.

CONSIDERING THE MILLENNIUM AS THE LAST DAY. AUGUSTINE: If we take the millennium and think of the end of that time as being the end of the world, we could say that it was the end of time in general, for a thousand years in God’s sight are like a single day. Because of this, anything that was done during the millennium could be spoken of as done at the end of time or on the last day. LETTERS 199.17.

WHO CAN TELL? CAESARIUS OF ARLES: Since it is written concerning the day of judgment that a thousand years will be like one day, who can tell whether we shall spend days, months or even years in that fire? SERMONS 179.5.

GOD REMEMBERS. HILARY OF ARLES: Just as a man works for a day and afterwards remembers what he has done, so God does not forget even after a thousand years. It may be a long time before he gets round to punishing sinners, but when he does so he uses his power in a single instant. INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 2 PETER.

WHETHER JUDGMENT DAY WILL LAST A THOUSAND YEARS. BEDE: There are some people who think that this means that the day of judgment will last for a thousand years, but the context from which it is taken makes such an interpretation impossible. Psalm 90:4 says clearly that the thousand years refer to what is already past and that it is a way of describing the shortness of our life here on earth. What we regard as long or short is all the same to God. ON 2 PETER.

2 Pet