What does the semicolon in 2 Peter 3:10 indicate?
The semicolon in 2 Peter 3:10 indicates a break or gap in time between the day of the Lord coming as a thief and the heavens passing away with a great noise. Scripture often uses punctuation to skip long periods—thousands of years—so the events are not necessarily immediate.
Les teaches that the day of the Lord begins with the onset of the tribulation and continues through the seven years and the thousand-year kingdom. He points out that in Scripture, Old and New Testaments, a punctuation mark can skip a thousand years, four thousand years, or whatever, so the reader must fit it together with everything else. Thus the semicolon in 2 Peter 3:10 separates the day of the Lord coming as a thief in the night from the heavens passing away with a great noise and the elements melting with fervent heat. Les also notes Peter, an uneducated fisherman, used terms like elements that scientists still use today.
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.
More Questions
What scientific term did Peter use in 2 Peter 3:10?
Peter, though an uneducated fisherman, used the scientific term 'elements' to describe the earth's makeup, the same term scientists use today.
How should punctuation marks that skip time be interpreted in Scripture?
Punctuation marks in Scripture can skip a thousand years or even four thousand years, and you must interpret them in the light of everything else.