Answer: The author of the second epistle of Peter attempts to deal with the problem occasioned by the delay in Jesus' return by appealing to Psalms 90:4 which states that "a thousand years in Your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night." Thus, 2 Peter 3:8 states, "But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."

However, the psalmist's words are not applicable to the situation under study. The author of 2 Peter 3:9, still basing himself on the psalmist, states that "the Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness." This author does not consider the second coming as "slow" in coming when considered according to God's reckoning. This makes 2 Peter 3:9 irrelevant in seeking a solution to the problem. Jesus' promise to return was recorded in accordance with human determination of time ("this generation"-Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30) not God's and must, therefore, come as specified by those human terms. There was to be fulfillment within the lifetimes of certain individuals alive at the time Jesus made the promise and following upon certain cataclysmic events which were to be witnessed by that generation. These events never occurred and the time for their occurrence has long since passed.