How can a punctuation mark affect Scripture's timeline?
A punctuation mark can indicate a break in Scripture's narrative that spans a long period, not merely a momentary pause. In 2 Peter 3:10, the semicolon separates events and can signal a jump of a thousand years, four thousand years, or more, requiring readers to fit it with the whole of Scripture.
Les teaches from 2 Peter chapter 3, beginning at verse 10, where Peter writes about the day of the Lord. He reminds listeners that the day of the Lord begins with the onset of the tribulation, goes through the seven years, and includes the thousand-year kingdom. At the phrase “in the which,” he notes there is a semicolon. Les explains that many times in Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, just a punctuation mark can skip a thousand years, four thousand years, or whatever. Therefore, the reader must put it together in the light of everything else. With that semicolon in between, the text then says the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.