Is the Bible full of encoded messages? Some people think so; and it’s true that there are difficult passages. But you don’t have to be a master at deciphering myth and history like Hollywood’s Indiana Jones or Ben Gates (National Treasure).  Yet, there are some really wild interpretations out there. So, what do we need?

We need to be diligent in our study.

We need to be careful in how we interpret.

Let me show you one simple example of what I’m talking about. But first, let me show you why this verse has been misinterpreted.

A couple hundred years ago in Europe there were folks who were very dissatisfied with the church. For most people the church was either the Roman Catholic Church or the Church of England. Both had a kind of stranglehold on the interpretation of Scripture and were in cahoots with the government. This bond between government and church meant strong control over the general population.

Some dissatisfied folks, instead of turning to the Bible for answers, simply turned away from religion. At the same time science was making great strides and was accepted at face value.

It was in this climate that some people began to throw off the power of religion because they wanted to engage in activities of their choosing without the severe judgment of the church. However, they needed credible justification.

The theory of evolution had been around for a while but had gained no popularity, not until Darwin suggested that the changes in species had evolved over long periods of time. He claimed to have found evidence for an old earth that was millions of years old. Though without proof, that was all that was needed for others to market the theory to the public as science.

Many clergymen were unable to stand against the sacred cow of science. So, to embrace science without throwing the Bible out, theistic evolution was born.^*

Theistic evolution suggests that God created things but set evolution in motion and let it develop naturally. In other words, the creation account in Genesis had to be reinterpreted or thrown out completely.

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.   —2 Peter 3:8

Science said, “Aha!” and religion, “Hallelujah!”

This was like a decoder ring that allowed the word day in Genesis be reinterpreted as a thousand years (365,000 days). So, a day in the creation sequence could have been millions of years (though that kind of reasoning makes sense nowhere else). Yet, looking back to the verse of Scripture, notice that Peter wrote, “with the Lord” one day “is like” a thousand years. It was a statement describing the timelessness of God...and that’s all. The point was that it might seem that God was taking a long time to do something, but that was only man’s view. God is not restricted by time. Not only that, God is not ignorant of the meanings of words. He communicated accurately about His work. So, this verse should never be used to suggest that a day is anything other than a day.

The Law of Moses was given to common people. 

The prophets were sent to common people. 

The New Testament was written to common people. 

God wants and expects common people to understand His word. 

We need diligence, not a mysterious decoder ring of subjectivity.

Mark Stinnett

September 17, 2023

*Among other sources, these things have been documented by Milt Marcy in his book, “The Emperors Who Had No Clothes.”