By Andy Jensen
The problem with time is we never seem to have enough. Time is unlike any other resource. It is totally non-renewable. We can't speed it up, can't slow it down and can't store it away. Despite countless scientific advancements, even the theory of relativity, time remains beyond control. We have so much to do, but we're rarely as efficient as we hope. Things go wrong, so we waste time correcting them. The real predicament is that time runs out. Time is an enemy. It is not a pleasant thought, but every passing day, is one day closer to death.
How can something as pleasant as life, be ruled by something as cruel as time? The Bible says time is not a mistake. In fact, God considered it to be ideal, in the beginning. Most of us recall the words that, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). God designated the beginning as the point at which he set up everything in heaven and on earth. From that point onwards, time existed. God went on to establish light, the universe, fish, birds, animals, and of course us. When he reviewed everything, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). The key here is that "very good" in ancient Hebrew means things were perfect. So nothing needed any improvement. Not even time.
So when did things fall apart? Not long after the creation. By then, "the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed" (Genesis 2:8). Sadly, Adam refused to live according to God's instructions. As a consequence, "the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken" (Genesis 3:23). But things soon became much worse! God said "Cursed is the ground because of you; ... it will produce thorns and thistles for you" (Genesis 3:17, 18) Even today this curse adversely affects everything we do. Outside of God's care in his perfect garden, work efforts are hindered. God says, "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:19). Things are difficult now. We cannot get as much done. Everything is hard work. Finally, death awaits us when time runs out.
No need to despair. Things don't end that way. John was shown a vision of "a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away" (Revelation 21:1). God intends to restore everything to its original pristine condition. By raising things anew, without the curse, he will provide a magnificent paradise and a future home for his people. Jesus came to this earth, lived, died and rose again to rescue us from this cursed world so that we could be those people and join God in the next life. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16). We'll be a restored people, in a renewed home, with no more curse and no more death.
How will this restoration affect us? Well, we will still have lots to do in heaven. The verse "we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10) comes with no expiry date. Engaging in good is wholesome and rewarding. It is what we're made for. However, with no more curse, we will be unhindered. Think of starting projects and actually finishing them. Think of the mutual satisfaction of joining others to deliver abundantly on a worthy cause. Consider the gratification of completing each new task without being waylaid in endless eddies of backtracking, firefighting and poor communication. We'll have the fullness of time to apply ourselves lavishly. We'll have the means to ensure all efforts are right-first-time and achieve their aims. Heaven will bring on a whole new experience of accomplishment.
Surely, welcome news like that is widely received and understood, right? Actually, many misunderstand the importance of time to God and his universe. A common quote is "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." (2 Peter 3:8). This does not indicate time to be irrelevant. Instead it reveals God's patience and decisiveness. He doesn't want anyone to perish, yet can still be trusted to deliver judgment day. It's not a description of what we can expect in the new earth. Not surprisingly there is someone with a vested interest in confusing the issue. Try as he might to ignore it, the devil is scheduled to be "thrown into the lake of burning sulfur ... for ever and ever" (Revelation 20:10). He will leave no stone unturned to mislead us into believing eternity is a timeless wasteland. Because without time, just about everything we understand would be unbearable. For example, what if nothing had a beginning? Imagine never attending another
party or concert because nothing ever started. Imagine never meeting a new friend. Or worse, what if nothing ever ended? Imagine a life playing a harp (pick your pleasure), forever. Time allows for fresh beginnings and change. Time itself is not the enemy.
Does the Bible mention time in heaven? A short search shows up many references. For example, John notes at one point "there was silence in heaven for about half an hour" (Revelation 8:1). Everything came to a stop, for a definable period, then recommenced. We also read that the martyrs "called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" ... and they were told to wait a little longer" (Revelation 6:10-11). Waiting would be meaningless without time. Waiting would be futile without a dependably orchestrated schedule of heavenly events. Not surprisingly we later read that the wait is over and "the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe" (Revelation 14:14). Everything in John's vision has an apparent sequence and orderliness. In fact, in heaven, even the tree of life bears "twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month" (Revelation 22:2). It is as regular as
clockwork.
The answer to not having enough time is clear. Eternity will provide a rich and inexhaustible supply. Though life here is spoiled and thwarted by the curse, life in the new earth will provide an abundance of opportunity, success and fulfillment. We'll finally have time to shine.
About the Author:
Earth is so beautiful. Can't get excited about clouds? Explore the heaven (http://www.adescriptionofheaven.org/) you always longed for. Investigate the afterlife without a medium. This page (http://adescriptionofheaven.org/heaven-cant-imagine-living-there/) could expand your horizons, forever.
The problem with time is we never seem to have enough. Time is unlike any other resource. It is totally non-renewable. We can't speed it up, can't slow it down and can't store it away. Despite countless scientific advancements, even the theory of relativity, time remains beyond control. We have so much to do, but we're rarely as efficient as we hope. Things go wrong, so we waste time correcting them. The real predicament is that time runs out. Time is an enemy. It is not a pleasant thought, but every passing day, is one day closer to death.
How can something as pleasant as life, be ruled by something as cruel as time? The Bible says time is not a mistake. In fact, God considered it to be ideal, in the beginning. Most of us recall the words that, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). God designated the beginning as the point at which he set up everything in heaven and on earth. From that point onwards, time existed. God went on to establish light, the universe, fish, birds, animals, and of course us. When he reviewed everything, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). The key here is that "very good" in ancient Hebrew means things were perfect. So nothing needed any improvement. Not even time.
So when did things fall apart? Not long after the creation. By then, "the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed" (Genesis 2:8). Sadly, Adam refused to live according to God's instructions. As a consequence, "the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken" (Genesis 3:23). But things soon became much worse! God said "Cursed is the ground because of you; ... it will produce thorns and thistles for you" (Genesis 3:17, 18) Even today this curse adversely affects everything we do. Outside of God's care in his perfect garden, work efforts are hindered. God says, "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:19). Things are difficult now. We cannot get as much done. Everything is hard work. Finally, death awaits us when time runs out.
No need to despair. Things don't end that way. John was shown a vision of "a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away" (Revelation 21:1). God intends to restore everything to its original pristine condition. By raising things anew, without the curse, he will provide a magnificent paradise and a future home for his people. Jesus came to this earth, lived, died and rose again to rescue us from this cursed world so that we could be those people and join God in the next life. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16). We'll be a restored people, in a renewed home, with no more curse and no more death.
How will this restoration affect us? Well, we will still have lots to do in heaven. The verse "we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10) comes with no expiry date. Engaging in good is wholesome and rewarding. It is what we're made for. However, with no more curse, we will be unhindered. Think of starting projects and actually finishing them. Think of the mutual satisfaction of joining others to deliver abundantly on a worthy cause. Consider the gratification of completing each new task without being waylaid in endless eddies of backtracking, firefighting and poor communication. We'll have the fullness of time to apply ourselves lavishly. We'll have the means to ensure all efforts are right-first-time and achieve their aims. Heaven will bring on a whole new experience of accomplishment.
Surely, welcome news like that is widely received and understood, right? Actually, many misunderstand the importance of time to God and his universe. A common quote is "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." (2 Peter 3:8). This does not indicate time to be irrelevant. Instead it reveals God's patience and decisiveness. He doesn't want anyone to perish, yet can still be trusted to deliver judgment day. It's not a description of what we can expect in the new earth. Not surprisingly there is someone with a vested interest in confusing the issue. Try as he might to ignore it, the devil is scheduled to be "thrown into the lake of burning sulfur ... for ever and ever" (Revelation 20:10). He will leave no stone unturned to mislead us into believing eternity is a timeless wasteland. Because without time, just about everything we understand would be unbearable. For example, what if nothing had a beginning? Imagine never attending another
party or concert because nothing ever started. Imagine never meeting a new friend. Or worse, what if nothing ever ended? Imagine a life playing a harp (pick your pleasure), forever. Time allows for fresh beginnings and change. Time itself is not the enemy.
Does the Bible mention time in heaven? A short search shows up many references. For example, John notes at one point "there was silence in heaven for about half an hour" (Revelation 8:1). Everything came to a stop, for a definable period, then recommenced. We also read that the martyrs "called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" ... and they were told to wait a little longer" (Revelation 6:10-11). Waiting would be meaningless without time. Waiting would be futile without a dependably orchestrated schedule of heavenly events. Not surprisingly we later read that the wait is over and "the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe" (Revelation 14:14). Everything in John's vision has an apparent sequence and orderliness. In fact, in heaven, even the tree of life bears "twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month" (Revelation 22:2). It is as regular as
clockwork.
The answer to not having enough time is clear. Eternity will provide a rich and inexhaustible supply. Though life here is spoiled and thwarted by the curse, life in the new earth will provide an abundance of opportunity, success and fulfillment. We'll finally have time to shine.
About the Author:
Earth is so beautiful. Can't get excited about clouds? Explore the heaven (http://www.adescriptionofheaven.org/) you always longed for. Investigate the afterlife without a medium. This page (http://adescriptionofheaven.org/heaven-cant-imagine-living-there/) could expand your horizons, forever.