Eternality

Let’s begin this message a thought experiment. Scroll back in your memory through the things you have done, and which happened to you since you woke up. Then work backward through key moments of the past week, then the past year. Then scroll backward through other memorable and milestone moments of your life (career, education, family, childhood, etc.), all the way back to your birth). Do these things seem like a long time ago?

Now, think back to a time before you were born. The history of our country, then major events of world history before that – the Industrial Revolution, the Middle Ages, the life of Christ, King David, Moses, Abraham, the Great Flood, Noah, the Garden of Eden, the creation of the world. Now, see if you can imagine it was like before God made the universe. What was it like before “in the beginning, God” (Gen 1:1)? Challenging, right?

Why is this challenging for us to do? Because we are temporal beings who came into existence within time and we only experience life within time. We have a birth date, for instance. We know when – in time – we came into existence and began to live. We also experience life one moment at a time.

A Family Circus comic once said, “Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.” Other variations of this statement include, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a present.”

As human beings, we exist in a spatial, temporal way. That is, we exist in a particular place and a particular time. And as we move forward through life (which is the only direction we can go), two things happen from our perspective: the past becomes a memory (which we may or may not forget) and a new opportunity appears – not only one year or month at a time, but one day, hour, minutes, and second at a time. Each segment of time which we enter into and experience, one after another, leaves new memories in our wake and places us headlong into new experiences without stopping.

About time as we experience and know it, one person has observed these four facts:

• We live in a half dimension of time that only moves forward.
• Time has not always existed but was created by God.
• Without limitations and progression of time, we would all experience everything at once.
• Without time, change could not occur.

But to understand the importance of time and our place within it, we must first and most importantly understand (as best as we possibly can) the nature and importance of God’s relationship to time. And in short, God’s relationship to time is eternal, a quality we call “eternality,” and he is not God because he’s eternal, he’s eternal because he is God.

What is the eternality of God?

The eternality of God means that God has no beginning or end and that he sees all time all at once. Let’s break this thought down into parts so we can understand it better.

God has no beginning or end.

Scripture teaches clearly and repeatedly that God existed before creation.

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.” (Psa 90:2)

The word eternity we read about in Scripture means something like “the most remote time” or “hidden time.” But it doesn’t describe time as we know it, the kind that began when God created the universe, the kind of time that is so closely and essentially connected with matter and space.

It describes a kind of time which is immeasurable – which cannot be measured in seconds, hours, days, weeks, months, years, centuries, and so on. It is a kind of time which has no beginning or end, and which does not occur in a pattern or sequence of moments and events. It not only just is but has always and will always be that way. So, God exists in eternity and in an eternal way. As such, he has no beginning or end.

That’s why Isaiah called him “the Everlasting God” (Isa 40:28) and why Moses calls him “El Olam,” which means “God of eternity” (Gen 21:33). Isaiah also tells us that God lives in, or “inhabits,” eternity (Isa 57:15). This means that he does not “move” through eternity as though eternity is, for him, an endless, immeasurable timeline with a far away beginning or end, but that he exists in all eternity – which has no boundaries – all at once, equally and forever. Let that sink in.

Since this is who he is, Paul calls him “the Eternal King” (1 Tim 1:17) and tells us that he has an eternal nature (Rom 1:20). As such, his purposes and plans are eternal. They have no beginning or end and will always certainly come to pass (Eph 3:11; 2 Tim 1:9).

God sees all time all at once.

Not only does God have no beginning or end, but he sees all time all at once. Time, as we know it, is closely associated with the created, physical universe God has made. Time “began,” as it were, at the beginning of the universe, when God spoke the world into being. Genesis describes this first of all moments as “in the beginning, God” (Gen 1:1).

Now, though God created time as an essential feature of the material universe, doing so did not and does not change the nature or existence of God in any way. He did not become temporal or limited by time at the moment of creation. He remained eternal.

This means, then, that just as God exists completely in this present moment, and the next, and the next, so he also exists at the time of Abraham, the time of the Middle Ages, the time of today, and the time of his future, coming kingdom. He exists completely at all times equally and in an unchanged, unaffected way. He is not different at different times. He is the same at all times and in eternity. And there has never been a time in which God did not exist or in which he existed in any other form or way than he exists today. He is truly the God of eternity.

One theologian, Louis Berkhof, explains eternality as:

“that perfection of God whereby He is elevated above all temporal limits and all succession of moments, and possesses the whole of His existence in one indivisible present.”

Now, the eternality of God, then, raises an important question. How does God relate to the progression of events and changing lives of people in the world who exist within time?
Theologian Charles Ryrie answers this question as follows:

“As an eternal Being He sees the past and the future as clearly as the present; further, He must see them as including succession of events, and yet He is in no way bound by that succession. An illustration of this is found in the heavenly scene in Revelation 6:9–11 where the Lord answered the question of the martyrs concerning how long it would be before they were avenged by telling them to wait until certain events had transpired on earth.”

To God, he saw the end from the beginning all at once as though it were one complete, unchanging scene, though the martyrs could only see the present moment and could not see that future time when God would bring them justice. The writer of Ecclesiastes explains it this way:

That which is has already been, and what is to be has already been; and God requires an account of what is past. (Eccl 3:15)

Some people explain this by saying that God lives in an “eternal now,” as theologian Charles Hodge explains:

“With [God] there is no distinction between the present, past, and future; but all things are equally and always present to Him. With Him duration is an eternal now.”

This is hard for us to understand because we were created within time at a certain point in time and experience existence in a close, inseparable connection to time. Our lives occur and progress through time and there is nothing we can do to change that. This makes it very difficult for us to understand God’s eternality, his timeless existence. But our limited, time-bound perspective does not negate the eternality of God.

Imagine you are a goldfish who lives in a small glass bowl filled with water. This glass bowl has some green pebbles at the bottom, along with a small ceramic castle and some plastic seaweed. You can see outside the bowl but only so far in each direction, and you cannot understand what it’s like to exist outside of the bowl. Only humans who are outside the bowl and who can travel anywhere in the world (or outer space, to some degree) can understand that.

For us, we can only understand what it is like to exist within this created, material world and in the context of history and time. We live in a physical space on an invisible timeline. We can imagine, perhaps, what it could be like to live outside of time and space, but our understanding of this concept will be very limited. God has no such limitations, though from his eternal nature and existence, he completely and genuinely interacts with us and intervenes in time and history to accomplish his eternal purpose and plans.

God’s involvement and interaction with people in time and space does not limit his eternal nature, just as a human being interacting with a fish in the fishbowl does not change that human being’s nature, either. That God is eternal is a timeless truth. He has no beginning, and he has no end. And because of this, he sees and involves himself in all moments of time completely, all at once.

God’s eternality provides us with great comfort.

This past week, I enjoyed an hour-and-a-half conversation with an agnostic friend of mine. As an agnostic, he is someone who claims to be unsure whether or not God exists. He does not deny God’s existence, but he doesn’t accept God’s existence, either. In this case, he is still giving the idea lots of serious thought.

Anyway, we spend time together on a regular basis doing other things, and this week he asked some really good and fascinating questions about God, morality, and human existence. We had a thoughtful conversation together for 90 minutes, and near the end of the conversation he said this:

“Thomas, one thing I will honestly admit about believing in the existence of an eternal God is this – that your view probably brings a lot of comfort and peace in the face of death and the question of the afterlife. If you hold to my agnostic view, it can be depressing.”

And he’s right. In fact, God has put within all our hearts a desire and longing for eternity.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. (Eccl 3:11)

This statement appears immediately after the well-known passage which says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: at time to be born, and a time to die, etc.” (Eccl 3:1-8). This passage goes on to list out fourteen opposite scenarios for all sorts of contrasting, different experiences that we experience as humans in time over the course of our lives on earth.

Then it says that God has “made everything beautiful in its time,” which means that God created time, and he chooses when things happen and how things happen within time. It is God who decides how time works, what time things will happen, and so on. And like the well-chosen, well-placed notes and notations in a beautiful piece of music, God has placed everything into time in a beautiful way – even the difficult things that happen. Only an eternal God who sees the end from the beginning all at once can do this.

Then the passage goes on to say that though we exist in time and experience a steady, unstoppable progression through time in all of its experiences, moments, seasons, and stages, the idea and aspiration for eternity has also be placed deeply within us.

Unlike God, we have a beginning (and he does not). But like God, as people who are made in his image, we do not have an end. We are, in that sense, like God, and we know it. Therefore, our hearts long for and look forward to an existence after, beyond, and outside of this present, temporal existence.

As Eccl. 3:11 says, “no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” We are unable to explain in a satisfactory, easy-to-understand way how God does things in relation to time, since there is no “beginning and end with God.” We cannot understand how he does things without time because we exist within time. But even so, we know there is an eternity, though we cannot fully explain it. And we know that though we were made within time, we have been made for something more and lasting, as well. This is why we long for eternity, and to not do so is to resist our God-given desire and nature.

How does our awareness of and desire for eternity bring us comfort? This comfort comes by believing in and resting in an eternal God. The writer of Ecclesiastes continues with this thought:

I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him. (Eccl 3:14)

From this we see first that God’s eternality means that he has never nor will he ever cease to exist. He always exists forever, so he will always be good, always be in control, and will always be there to rely upon, to know, to care for what he has created, and to ensure that his purpose and plans are completely and perfectly fulfilled.

One Bible teacher explains it this way:

“A comforting ramification of God’s eternity is the confidence that God has never, nor will He ever, cease to exist; therefore His sustaining, providential control of all things and events is assured.”

By placing “eternity in our hearts,” God has created us to find comfort and peace in his eternality … if we choose to accept and acknowledge him as God and Jesus Christ as God and Savior.

It’s as though God has placed in our hearts an inner, spiritual GPS that is preprogrammed with “eternity” as our destination. We know that’s where we are headed, whether we attempt to deny it or not.

While many may choose to deny it, others simply choose to downplay or ignore this reality. As they make their way through life (and perhaps this is you), they give little thought or attention to their eternal destination and their worship of an eternal God. When we live this way, we search for meaning and satisfaction in the temporal things of this material life and existence. When we do this, experiences of age, change, and loss are especially difficult to handle well.

But when we acknowledge, accept, and fully embrace our hope in an eternal God through Jesus Christ, then we can experience a peace that passes understanding as we experience age, change, and loss in life, no matter how difficult or traumatic those experiences may be in time.

Most importantly, we must understand that only an eternal God can promise and provide eternal life to temporal, sinful people like you and me. Scripture clearly teaches that people who refuse to believe on Jesus Christ as God and Savior will experience eternal death and separation from God forever in a place called “the Lake of Fire,” where “the fire is never quenched” (Mk 9:44). But those who believe on Christ will live with God in a New Earth that will last forever. John says that they “will not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn 3:16).

That’s why Pastor J. A. Bengel said this:

“The thought of eternity particularly delights those assured of grace, while it terrifies others.”

Which is it for you?

In closing, I would like to point out an amazing thing our Eternal God has done for us.

The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev 13:8)

And Peter also said this:

… the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. (1 Pet 1:19-20)

Christ’s death for your sins was something that God had chosen to do in eternity. Like God himself, there was never a time in which God was not planning to send Christ to die for our sins, nor was Christ’s death something that God decided to do at some point along the way in the timeline of human history. It has always been the intention and plan in eternity for God to send Jesus Christ as the Savior for your sins.

So, when we remember Christ’s death as we observe the Lord’s Table together as a church, we are remembering something that not only actually and factually occurred within the timeline of human history, we are remembering something which has always been a part of God’s plan and purpose for mankind – and for you. Have you believed on Jesus Christ for salvation from your sins?

If so, are you finding the comfort and peace that only a belief in an eternal, loving, faithful God can provide, a comfort and peace that transcends time and looks forward to eternity? May our belief in the eternal God motivate us to live in light of eternity.

May we pray along with Pastor Jonathan Edwards, who prayed, “O God, stamp eternity on my eyeballs!”