At this point I need to give some definitions. How do we define time and eternity, and how are they different? I will use science and the Bible to arrive at definition and distinction.
The beginning of the twentieth century saw dramatic change in the human understanding of time. Albert Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity transformed time from Isaac Newton’s perception of a fixed absolute frame of reference, in which all of space and matter occurred and proceeded, into a fourth dimension. That fourth dimension, in concert with the three dimensions of space forms the fabric of our material world. Prior to Einstein, it was the modern assumption that time was unending and without beginning. But now it appears that time, as we know it in our present moment, began coincident with creation of the cosmos and that it will terminate with the end of the cosmos. Einstein remarked that,
“If we assume that all matter were to disappear from the world there would no longer be any space or time.”
Einstein was, however, not the first to intuit this mysterious nature of time.
“Time began with the world—or after it.”– Philo Judaeus, BC 20-AD 40
“Time shall be no more.”– John the Apostle, Revelation 10:6 speaking of the eternal environment of God.
“Creation was with time, not in time.” – Augustine of Hippo, 354-420
“Here [in eternity] you must put time out of your mind and know that in that world there is neither time nor a measure of time, but everything is an eternal moment.” – Martin Luther, 1483-1546
As a consequence of the special theory of relativity, we now know that time is a fourth dimension, which has no meaning or existence apart from the physical universe, and which could not have existed prior to creation (the existence of the physical universe).
What these men, and others, have recognized is that time (entropic time as we know and experience it) is part of the structure of our world, but not part of the eternal real estate. When God created the cosmos that we presently inhabit, he used space, matter, and time like a building contractor uses boards, bricks, and mortar to build a house.
As the eternal I AM, God is capable of creating a cosmos with as much time and age as he desires. God uses time, but he is not subject to time.
One definition is important at this point. What do I mean by time in my references to eternity as a “timeless” real estate? By historical time, as we presently perceive it, I mean entropy, the inevitable descent into degeneration, disorder, death and disintegration that occurs in the perceived flow of time and that is the common lot of all people, animals, plants and every other physical thing.
By referring to eternity as timeless, I do not mean a static absence of activity or orderly sequence of events but an absence of the evolution of everything to death and disintegration. In making this distinction the Bible simply says that God’s time is not like man’s time (Psalm 90:1-4; 2 Peter 3:8-10).
Psa 90:1-4 A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. (2) Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. (3) You turn man back into dust And say, “Return, O children of men.” (4) For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night.
2Pe 3:8-10 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. (9) The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (10) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
From the above references we learn that time (days, years) on our present Earth is of a different quality from time in God’s eternal real estate. God is sovereign over time, Himself described as “from everlasting to everlasting.” (Psalm 90:2) God in His eternity can never end, but our present Earth and its series of present moments that we call the flow of time definitely has a terminus. Our historical time will end, but God’s eternal time will never end.
In the remainder of this series when I refer to time in the sense that we know and understand it today I mean historical time with its intrinsic and unavoidable descent into death and disintegration. In some places, to facilitate clarity, I may use the cumbersome but more specific term “historical time,” referring to how people experience time on Earth. God is not confined in, or subject to, “historical time.” He is extrinsic to “historical time” and sovereign over it! For He has created “historical time.”
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