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Eternity and Time ETERNITY AND TIME CONTENTS Introduction 1 Eternity And Time Must Be Distinguished 2 Distinction Between Eternity And Time Is Illustrated 3 God’s Eternal Purpose Is Executed In Time 4 The Eternal God Adapted Man For Time 5 Man In Time Has Eternity In His Heart 6 The Certainty Of Eternity And The Uncertainty Of Time Are Contrasted 7 Man’s Eternal Existence Does Not Consist In The Possessions Of Time 8 Man Was Created In Time To Live Eternally 9 The Whole Man Created In Time Will Live Eternally 10 God Distinguishes Immortality From Incorruption 11 Immortality Of The Body And Everlastingness Of The Soul Are Distinct 12 Momentary Light Affliction Is Outweighed By Eternal Glory 13 Temporal And Eternal Things Are Compared 14 Christians Are Saved In Hope 15 The Eternal House Will Replace The Tent Of Time 16 Paul Desired His House From Heaven 17 To Be Absent From The Body Is To Be Present With The Lord 18 Death Is Gain For The Christian 19 Biblical Information Must Not Remain In A Closed Bible 20 The Body Belongs To God 21 Resurrection Is Associated With Christ’s Second Coming (Part I) 22 Resurrection Is Associated With Christ’s Second Coming (Part II) 23 Flesh And Blood Will Give Place To Flesh And Bones 24 The Rich Man And Lazarus Are Contrasted 25 Attitudes Of The Elect And Nonelect About Time And Eternity Differ 26 Lazarus Ascended And The Rich Man Descended 27 The New Body Is Spiritual In Nature 28 Christ Is The Firstfruits Of The Elect’s Resurrection 29 The New Body Has A New Source Of Energy 30 God’s Creative Acts Are Either The Beginning Of Or In Time 31 Satan’s Contamination Of The Heavens and Earth Necessitates Their Renewal 32 The New Heaven And Earth Are The Elect’s Permanent Residence 33 Divergent Views Of The New Heaven And Earth Are Discussed INTRODUCTION Theological research is considered by many assembly (church) members to be hairsplitting. Thus, we see another method of Satan to keep Christians from an in-depth study of Scripture. Why do people call the spiritual desire for research into the depths of Biblical evidence unprofitable for the spiritual life? There is no complaint against scientific research for the improvement of physical life. People in general are not only requesting scientific research in this area but they are giving large sums of money for such endeavor. Scientists consider it a great honor to spend their lives in analyzing plants, insects, the human body, space, etc., to improve the quality of physical life. This work is never called hairsplitting but scientific research. There can be no worthier object of mental application than the eternal God and His relation to eternity and time. We must never forget that theological research has its boundary. It is limited to “thus saith the Lord.” The word reveals the eternal God and His purpose for the elect. Satan wants to deceive, but deception is difficult where the light of Biblical research is made, proclaimed, and received. Hence, the more knowledge one has on a given subject, the less likely his deception. The man of God who devotes fifty or more years to the study of Holy Scripture is no fanatic. There is no better way to demonstrate the deception by Satan than to contrast Biblical research with scientific research. For example, a physician might spend five to ten thousand hours in his laboratory before he discovers some wonder drug like the Salk vaccine. Is he called a fanatic for his enthusiasm? No, he is praised. However, a man of God who spends a hundred thousand or more hours in an in-depth study of the word of God is considered an extremist. He is criticized for not giving more time to unprofitable programs. Churches today are filled with such critics who have more concern for time than for eternity. They do not know that the greater knowledge believers have of eternal verities the better equipped they are to redeem the time. 1 ETERNITY AND TIME MUST BE DISTINGUISHED A recent newspaper article reported a recognition among many doctors of a near-death phenomenon. The report was that more people talk about the phenomenon because of publicity concerning near-death research. According to the article, near-death experiences have become common and are no longer considered fictitious. The poll that was taken revealed a variety of near-death experiences. Those claiming to have had the experience gave various testimonies: (1) They had a sense of peace and painlessness. (2) They experienced a panoramic view of their lives. (3) They felt the presence of dead relatives or spirits. (4) They felt themselves moving through some kind of passage or tunnel. The various conclusions drawn from the poll are interesting. A doctor, who requested anonymity, said his out-of-body experience while undergoing surgery has altered his skepticism about an afterlife. He said he had always believed in God, but his experience made him realize there really is something out there. Some suppose that their lives have been changed for the better by their near-death experiences, but others say their experiences have proved disruptive. Some have become reckless, and others become dissatisfied with their jobs and marriages. There are some who become so enamored with their near-death experiences that they do not want to go on with the business of living. They would rather have this wondrous death. A question asked was whether near-death experiences open peepholes to heaven, or if they are merely the unraveling of the brain as it approaches death. The article stated that a decade of research has discredited some theories and produced some others: (1) Endorphins, the morphine-like substance released by the brain during trauma, may account for the peace and painlessness. (2) Temporal lobe seizures, which sometimes cause the brain to replay life experiences, could result in the panoramic vision of one’s life. (3) Out-of-body observations may be evidence that the mind and brain can exist separately. (4) Anoxia, the lack of oxygen to the brain, could produce the sensation of out-of-body-floating. The rush of blood to the brain as the person regains consciousness could result in the brilliant light witnessed by some. (5) Subconscious memories of the birth experience may account for the moving through a passageway or tunnel. (6) Near- death images of heaven may be the mind conjuring pictures based on previous religious instruction. (7) Near-death experiences are not death itself, and they cannot be interpreted as visions of people who have come back from the dead. The near-death experiences of millions should promote interest in the study of time and eternity. Subjective experiences of people in time should never be accepted as valid in relation to eternal realities. Christians must beware of a humanistic philosophy that makes human experiences the norm for judging reality. Human philosophy denies that Scripture provides the norm for belief or action. Furthermore, it stresses human freedom not to merely choose correctly but to create a subjectively meaningful world. Hence, anthropology replaces theology. Conclusively, with those who embrace this philosophy, human opinions overshadow and replace the objective facts of Holy Scripture. Time is valuable because it has not only a beginning but an ending. Therefore, there is a future, a present, and a past. The only part of time that actually exists is the present. The past is gone, and the future has not yet arrived. Failure to redeem the time, that is, “the now,” is to lose it: “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15, 16). The Greek word for “redeeming” is the present middle participle of exagoradzo, which means to buy out, to redeem, or to set free. In the middle voice it means to secure for oneself or to rescue from loss. The correct way to speak of time is not past, present, and future but future, present, and past. Time is not moving from the past but from the future. Time that is past is lost forever. It cannot be redeemed. Since the future has not arrived, one cannot make the most of what does not yet exist. Time is a point and has a location. A common expression is “at that point in time.” Time’s location is the present. Therefore, Christians should continually make the most of the “now.” Time began with creation. Three things basic to the created universe are space, matter, and time. Space consists of three dimensions— length, breadth, and height. These are the basic dimensions with which we are familiar. Matter consists of energy, motion, and phenomena. Time consists of future, present, and past. This universe was created by God for His glory (Gen. 1:1; John 1:3; Col. 1:16). God’s essence cannot be comprehended, but His existence cannot be denied. (See Rom. 1:19, 20; Rev. 4:11.) The purpose of God in creation is presently being completed. “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36). Please observe that the verse does not say “to,” “by,” and “for” the people. All things are moving toward their consummation that “God may be all in all” (I Cor. 15:28). The beginning of creation, therefore, includes the beginning of time. Time has an important relation to man. It speaks of the period of his life, because there is a time to be born and a time to die (Eccl.
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