Time in Eternity

We often refer to something that is eternal as ‘timeless.’ One would logically think that when there is a promise of no more death and no physical ending point, then there must also be no measurement of time.

So, if eternity doesn’t track time, meaning there are no schedules to keep, then how will eternity be spent? What will people do forever?

I do not have a crystal ball nor suggesting that somehow, I have a new revelation from God about eternity. And neither does anyone else!

My point on this topic is twofold:

1) To remind us of what the Bible says about time and eternity; and,

2) God places importance on time, though His time-measuring is not framed the same as human time.

God references “time” throughout Scripture. From the six literal days of creation to specific times mentioned that fulfill prophecies, to directing mankind to “number his days,” our eternal God measures and places value on time.

The Bible provides some guidance on time and eternity. Like so many other misinterpretations to explain the unexplainable — whether for personal glory or to just look more spiritual than everyone else — there are as many errors and false beliefs about eternity as there are false timelines on when Jesus will return.

Can’t we just take the Bible at its word? God has revealed to all of us exactly what He wants us to know and, what He wants to remain veiled. We aren’t going to know what eternity is like until we are in it. We do know God promised us an eternal home with Him and the Apostle John does his best to describe what he sees when writing Revelation.

It is Revelation 22:2, after the millennial reign, after all the judgments, when eternity itself begins, that John tells us that in the middle of the street is the river of life and on either side of it, the tree of life that bears a different fruit every month. This verse reveals that eternity cannot be timeless, though it lasts forever, because the fruit changes and bears fruit monthly — a time measurement for which humans are familiar.

There has been much speculation on a day equaling a thousand years. Psalm 90:4 proclaims that a thousand years in God’s sight is as yesterday. The Apostle Peter (II Peter 3) reminds believers (vs.1) that in the last days there will be scoffers and mockers (vs.3), who question Jesus’ return (vs. 4). He tells believers to “not let this one fact escape your notice, that with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day (vs.8).

In context, this is referencing that God’s time is His, not based on human man-made time. It does not mean that one day is literally a thousand years, but states it is like or as a thousand years. He has promised Jesus will return and, as all other promises have been kept and fulfilled, this one will be fulfilled, as well, based on God’s eternal clock. Will this keeping of time have any relationship to our eternity? God does not tell us.

Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly reminds us that “when the time was fulfilled” — referring to Jesus’ birth, to Jesus’ ministry with certain miracles, with Jesus’ death, and with Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Throughout Revelation, God intersperses man’s time with His time. For example, God references the length of the Tribulation and the Great Tribulation in “man years” while in Revelation 22, He tells John to not hide or seal the prophecy (like He did with Daniel (Daniel 7), because “the time is at hand” (Revelation 14:7).

God’s time is on a different scale from earth’s time. God uses His timeline to address future events or when confirming that “the time was accomplished” or fulfilled related to prophecy. God uses man-time when He shares milestones or markers in history and in the future so we can know His word is true, accurate, and accountable, such as tracking Daniel’s visions of events and empires and to know the length of God’s judgments during the Tribulation.

Don’t be misled by false teachers who claim they have all the answers about God — it’s fake news. What we know about eternity is only based on what God has revealed and that what God has in store for believers is good, beyond our understanding, and far greater than what anyone can describe.

Stop limiting God with your finite imagination of what you think eternity will be like or following others who don’t know, either. Just enjoy His blessings and gifts that He has already clearly described and provided. Let Him surprise us at His celebration of the marriage feast of the Lamb. It will be far greater than anything we can imagine!