When a year comes to an end and a new one begins, our thoughts naturally turn to things related to the time frame in which mortals live. We call it the past, the present, and the future. A definition of time would go something like this: a measurable period during which an action of condition exists or continues.
The fact that a limited life span is part of human experience is the subject of a familiar passage in the third chapter of Ecclesiastes. It begins, "There is an appointed time for everything. And there is time for every event under heaven - a time to give birth and a time to die." These words hit us like a sledgehammer because they bring the reality of our present mortality into stark focus.
However, there is another dimension of time in the Bible that is spoken of more frequently, especially in the Gospel. It is expressed by words like eternity (or eternal) and everlasting, which means infinite time, without end.
The Bible teaches that God is eternal and He brought the world into being, even before the beginning of time itself and will bring the world to its ultimate conclusion, in accordance with His will and purpose.
Consider another verse written by St. John which is almost beyond human comprehension: "The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, that there should be time no longer," Revelations, 10:5-6.
It is the timeless dimension of eternity that the Gospel has its most pointed application. It is the reason the Gospel of Christ is called the religion of life and hope for it raises the possibility of life after death. In fact, it does more than raise this possibility, it promises it. "And this is the promise that He has promised us - eternal life," 1 John 2:25.
The Scriptures boldly proclaim that every single mortal will live forever by means of a bodily resurrection after death and Jesus Christ clearly demonstrated the resurrection by His own. This means that rather than lament the fact that another year of mortal life has slipped away we can be thankful that we are one year closer to immortality when years are not relevant.
But, there remains a mysterious and perplexing question. Where will we spend eternity? The Scriptures reveal only two possibilities.
"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: Then shall he say also to them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels," Matthew 25:32-41.
Pastor Gene Holman of Living Word Fellowship is a member of the Carson Valley Ministers' Association.
