eternity

The hour

Jesus described his appointment with death as an opportunity for his divine character to be manifested to the world. He told his disciples, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified” (John 12:23). Even though he knew he would be brutally murdered, Jesus thought of his death as a necessary part of God’s plan of salvation. He said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:24). The picture Jesus created of a seed being planted in the ground portrayed his death as a source of new life. The reason Jesus said the seed would abide alone unless it died was to convey the point that his sinless life entitled him to entrance into heaven, but there would be no one there with him unless he paid the penalty for the sins of everyone else.

Jesus told his disciples, “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (John 12:25). Jesus’ message was probably intended to motivate his followers to make a sacrifice similar to his own. The idea that they would lose their life by trying to hang on to it, was Jesus’ way of saying that the temporal pleasures of this world were incomparable to what they had to look forward to in heaven. Jesus knew it wouldn’t be easy for his disciples to continue believing in him after he was crucified, but wanted them to understand that his only purpose in coming to this world was to make a way for them to be with him later. He said, “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father save me from this hour: but for this cause I came to this hour” (John 12:27).

The hour Jesus referred to was the appointed time for him to leave Earth and return to his Father in heaven (John 13:1). So that his disciples would know that there was no mistake in what was happening, Jesus said:

“Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel spoke to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be case out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.(John 12:28-33)

Jesus’ intention in dying for the sins of the world was not to bring glory to himself. His identification with God was specifically linked to the glorification of his Father. “As the glory of God is the revelation and manifestation of all that He has and is,” so Jesus’ life was a “Self-revelation” in which God manifested all the goodness that he wanted to give to the world (G1392). It was because Jesus willingly gave up his life on Earth that he was able to picture the hour of his death as a seed being planted in the ground. The fruit that he expected to come from it was human immortality.

The new temple (part 12)

The first command that God gave Abraham was, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee” (Genesis 12:1). Later, after Abraham began to dwell in the land of Canaan, The LORD said to him, “Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever” (Genesis 13:14-15). It’s possible that the spot of land Abraham was standing on at the time this promise was made to him was the location of the new temple described by Ezekiel in chapters 40-48 of his book.

The new temple was located in the center of a foursquare piece of land measuring 25,000 reeds (approx. 50 miles) by 25,000 reeds. Each of the tribes of Israel were given a portion of the land surrounding the new temple based on their birthright, rather than their birth order. Due to the fact that Jacob’s twelve sons were born by four different women; two sisters, Rachel and Leah; and two handmaids or servants; the sons’ inheritances were equal in size, but not equal in their location. The tribes descended from maidservants were placed farthest from the sanctuary (Note on Ezekiel 48:2) and the tribes of Judah (Leah’s son) and Benjamin (Rachel’s son) were placed closest to the sanctuary.

The reason the location of the tribes was important with regards to the sanctuary or temple of God was because it says in Ezekiel 48:35, “the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.” God’s physical presence in his temple was unique to the new temple described by Ezekiel. Previously, a cloud had filled the house of the LORD as a visible manifestation of the presence of the Lord (1 Kings 8:10 and note). I believe in the new temple, Jesus will be sitting on a throne and will be visible to all who enter the sanctuary. The only question is, will he remain there after the millennium is over?

The Hebrew term for ever or everlasting, olam (o – lawm´) is associated with time (5769). Olam is properly translated as “concealed, i.e. the vanishing point.” It is possible that what we are able to see now is a result of the earth spinning at a particular rate that makes somethings visible and others things invisible. Perhaps in the future, the earth will not rotate, but will merely stand still in a stationary position. Without movement, there may be an opportunity to see things that were once hidden from our view. Like when we are in a moving vehicle speeding along a highway, objects are missed because there is only so much we can take in. Eternity could be just a point in the future when movement stops.

The Living God

Jeremiah exposed the trade of idolatry as a worthless pursuit of self glorification. He spoke of those who practiced idolatry as being vain. He said, “For the customs of the people  are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold, they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must be borne, because they cannot go” (Jeremiah 10:3-5).

Idols were nothing more that inanimate objects that were portrayed as having superhuman powers that could harm people unless sacrifices were made to them. Jeremiah said, “Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good” (Jeremiah 10:5). At the heart of idolatry was a superstitious belief that a person could control his own destiny and did not need help from God to be successful in life.

Jeremiah pointed out that God’s role in the universe was to control the final outcome of his creation. He said, “But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king; at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation” (Jeremiah 10:10). The Hebrew word translated everlasting, ‘ôlâm (o – lawm´) refers to something that is concealed or the vanishing point when time no longer exists (5769). Another interpretation of olam is eternity. In the context of an everlasting king, it refers to the God who always has and always will rule over the earth.

Jeremiah’s reference to the LORD as the true God, the living God, was meant to emphasize the fact that God is alive and is a divine being with real superhuman powers. Jeremiah said, “He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion” (Jeremiah 10:12). Jeremiah’s use of the words power, wisdom, and discretion to describe God indicate that he is an intelligent being with the ability to create a world that is stable in the midst of a chaotic universe.

Jeremiah acknowledged that there is no comparison between man’s ability and God’s ability. As much as we want to think we can control our own destiny, it is impossible. Without God, there is no way to know how our lives will change over the course of 40 – 50 years. Jeremiah said, “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing” (Jeremiah 10:23-24).

 

Imagine

Psalm 48 is a vision of a future or end state of the capital of God’s kingdom. The psalmist refers to this city as the “city of God” (Psalm 48:1). Another way of looking at it would be as God’s hometown, the city where he actually lives. It may be hard to imagine God living on earth, but the Messianic name of God, Immanuel, means “with us (is) God” (6005) or God with us.

The amazing thing about Psalm 48 is that it appears to have been written after Israel was taken into captivity. The purpose of the psalm was probably twofold. First, it was a statement of faith that Jerusalem would survive Assyrian attack. Second, the psalm provided hope to those who dared to imagine that God’s presence on earth would one day be a reality.

The ability to imagine themselves as the final victors over every kingdom on earth gave the Israelites strength to endure their most difficult challenge, exile from their homeland. With hopeful expectation, the psalmist stated, “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion” (Psalm 48:2). In other words, he wanted us to imagine the city of Good as a bright light that brings joy to the faces of everyone that sees it.

In addition to portraying the city of God as a place of hope, the psalmist also described mount Zion as an impenetrable fortress. The city’s elevation, proximity to the desert, and access to a water supply made it a perfect place of refuge, but the presence of God’s temple made it an intimidating citadel that seemed beyond capture. The psalmist declared, “For lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. They saw it, and so they marveled; they were troubled and hasted away” (Psalm 48:4-5).

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the city of God is its eternal existence. God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants was that he would give them the land of Canaan for ever (Genesis 13:15). When Jesus establishes his kingdom on earth, it says in Luke 1:33, “He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” According to this promise, the psalmist stated, “As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever” (Psalm 48:8).

Trying to imagine a city without end would be impossible if it weren’t for the concept we have of heaven. Even though we can’t see it, we know heaven exists and that it is God’s home right now. Somehow, in the future, heaven and earth will intersect in such a way that eternal life will be natural for human beings. The key to this intersection is Jesus and his triumph over death. As if to explain the need for death to occur before there could be eternal life, the psalmist stated, “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death” (Psalm 48:14).

 

An eternal kingdom

One thing that is evident about empires that have existed on the earth is that they have all been temporary. Although some have survived for hundreds of years, none have been permanent. The kingdom God promised to David’s descendants was to be an eternal kingdom. It says of David’s son in 2 Samuel 7:13, “He shall build a house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.”

At first, this promise seemed to apply to king Solomon, but after his death, it became apparent that God would not be able to establish an eternal kingdom with a human king. The concept of a Messiah formulated over time and was clarified in Isaiah’s prophesy about Israel’s return to the Promised Land after their captivity. As a sign of God’s faithfulness, Isaiah stated, “Behold, a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son , and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

Isaiah spoke plainly about God’s judgment, but assured the people that God intended to keep his promise to establish an eternal kingdom on earth. It says in Isaiah 9:6-7:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to stablish it with judgment and justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

The timing of Israel’s captivity was important because the Assyrian empire that existed from 916 – 612 B.C. was the first empire comparable to Rome in organization. The Assyrian policy under king Tiglath-pileser was to reduce the whole civilized world into a single empire. God used the king of Assyria to execute judgment on Israel because Isaiah declared “every one is a hypocrite and an evildoer” (Isaiah 9:17).

In spite of God’s indignation toward his people, he didn’t want to destroy them completely. Isaiah indicated that a remnant would be saved and “The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God” (Isaiah 10:21). The use of the Messianic title “The mighty God” made it clear that God’s plan would be carried out as a result of the people returning to the Promised Land.

In one sense, Assyrian captivity was preparation for survival under the Roman government. When Isaiah said about the Messiah, “the government shall be upon his shoulder” (Isaiah 9:6), he was referring to the burden of foreign rule. Even though the Assyrian empire self-destructed in 612 B.C., other empires would rise and fall, and God’s people were intended to survive them all.

Practice makes perfect

The concept of time is relative to experience. The more experience we have with something, the less we become aware of time while doing it. Therefore, the more we do something, the less time it seems to take. Eventually, we may reach a level of experience where we lose track of time or become completely unaware of time while doing something. It is at that point when eternity or “time out of mind” (5769) begins to make sense to us.

Solomon said that “to every purpose there is time and judgment” (Ecclesiastes 8:6) and “better is the end of a thing than the beginning” (Ecclesiastes 7:8). Sometimes we avoid a certain experience because we think we won’t like it or it might turn out badly. Therefore, we do not reach a point where we can see things from an eternal perspective. For example, a person gets divorced and decides to never remarry because the breakup was too painful.

Solomon said, “then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done” (Ecclesiastes 8:17). The words translated work and done are associated with practice. They refer to something that is done habitually, a lifestyle that has become a way of life. It is difficult to get an eternal perspective on something if you only do it once, especially if you don’t get to see the outcome or end result. From an eternal perspective, a bad result is better than no result if you learn from your mistake.

 

An eternal perspective

It says in Romans 5:5, “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” The term shed abroad denotes movement across time and space (1537). What this implies is that believers in the Old Testament of the Bible, such as king David, received the Holy Spirit just as believers in the New Testament did.

The imparting or filling of the Holy Spirit occurred on an individual basis as a result of God’s divine election. Prophets who were also known as seers were often given visions of future events that were to be communicated to God’s people. In a sense, God’s ability to transcend time is transferred to the believer through the Holy Spirit and He makes it possible for us to see what God sees.

The words of David recorded in Psalm 109:4-8 may have been a result of his seeing the crucifixion of Christ. David said, “For my love they are my adversaries…And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love” (Psalm 109:4-5). These words do not seem to coincide with events in David’s life, but fit perfectly with Christ’s betrayal. In Psalm 109:8, David said, “Let his days be few and let another take his office.” This verse is mentioned in Acts 1:20 indicating that David’s words were prophetic.

David’s ability to see future events may be why his psalms are so timeless. Thousands of years after David lived, his psalms are still being memorized and quoted by many believers. David understood the struggles of life and was able to put them into the proper perspective, an eternal perspective with Jesus Christ at the center of it.

I believe David’s words at the end of Psalm 109 could be a picture of the day of judgement, when believers will be vindicated by Christ. “I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea I will praise him among the multitude, for he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul” (Psalm 109:30-31).