The Eternality of God
Scripture
Ecclesiastes 3:11
Study
Closely related
to God’s self-existence is His eternality. Because God had no
creator, He is either eternal or simply popped into existence out of
nothing and for no reason. God’s eternality makes much more logical
sense, but it is likewise upheld in scripture.
As God
identifies Himself as I AM we find the connotation of God’s
self-existence, but also the fact that He is eternal.
What is
eternal?
The question of
what is eternal may seem simple but we must understand that not all
that we think of as eternal is actually so. Scripture speaks of the
mountains as being from everlasting to everlasting. And certainly
the mountains will be here as long as the earth is inhabited. But
we also know from scripture that the heavens and earth will pass
away and there will be a new heaven and earth.
Sometimes things
are discussed as eternal or everlasting to simply mean they will be
around a long time. Scripture does not contradict itself and when
there is an apparent contradiction, we must find what the intent of
the author was.
Eternity
and man
Ecclesiastes
3:11 tells us that God has set eternity in our hearts – and yet we
cannot fathom it. We think of heaven, but we get a small minded
picture because we can’t comprehend anything longer than our own
lifetime. But man is only eternal going forward; we have not been
in existence for eternity because we were created.
We will all be
resurrected to everlasting punishment or reward. Jesus often speaks
of eternal life and eternal punishment. There are some who have
claimed that hell is a temporary place of torment because a loving
God cannot punish someone forever. But to make hell a temporary
place is to make heaven temporary as well. The same word is used
for eternal life as is used for eternal punishment or eternal fire.
Alpha and
Omega – the God of time
God is described
as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the End. The question
must be asked if God created time and He sits outside of it or
whether it passes regardless but He has a different perception of
it. We know that a day is like a thousand years and a thousand
years like a day to Him.
There are some
who claim that time is not relevant to God but only to creation. In
this case, there will be a time when time shall be no more.
However, Revelation 22:2 records that the tree of life will bear its
fruit every month. This could be figurative language or it could be
understood literally. If literal, time will continue to pass as it
always has. If it is figurative, time will cease to have meaning
for us as we spend eternity with God.
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