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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Is God beyond time as we know it? | Rev 21:6 | Diomede | 158298 | ||
Does this verse mean God exsists in a way that is beyond time as we know it? If so, then when we go to be with him will we exsist in the same way? | ||||||
2 | Is God beyond time as we know it? | Rev 21:6 | DocTrinsograce | 158300 | ||
Dear Diomede, Scripture shows that all things created by God are external to Him. Time was created by Him and, therefore, He is not subject to time. He is a God who invades time and history as He chooses in order to work out His eternal purpose. There are other passages of Scripture that give a glimpse into God's relationship to time. Although some have argued that time will cease in the new heaven and the new earth, I disagree. I have seen a scholarly paper that did a very good job of demonstrating from Scripture that glorification will inaugurate an infinite succession of days (i.e., 24 hour periods). The man's reasoning was a bit involved to include here on the forum. Your other question: will we exist in the same way, is, I think, a question regarding our relationship to time. I believe that we were created to be subject to time and I believe we will continue to function within its constraints in glory. Although, that is based on inferences as to how man was created in the first place. Good questions, Diomede! In Him, Doc |
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3 | References to God being timeless. | Rev 21:6 | Diomede | 158438 | ||
Thanks Doc for your thoughts. This is a huge concept I am trying to get my head around. Could you give me the references for some of the other scriptures on the same subject which you mentioned? Also, the paper you refer to, is that something I could access on-line? Thanks for your help. |
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4 | References to God being timeless. | Rev 21:6 | DocTrinsograce | 158456 | ||
Dear Diomede, If you succeed in wrapping your head around this, you'll have done far more than any other human has done! You see, truth is not simple, shallow, or trite. We are finite beings within the context of an enormously complex universe (both macroscopically and microscopically), created by an even more enormously complex God. We can only catch glimpses of the truth insofar as we are able to observe the world around us, and comprehend the revelation that God has provided us. John Calvin said something to the effect that God speaks baby-talk to us. He must stoop down and express things in simple ways. If He did not, there is no way we could understand anything about Him. In understanding the fundamental nature of God and His relationship to the universe, you might read the paper written by A. A. Hodge: http://www.mbrem.com/god/hodg-god.htm You also asked about the paper that I mentioned. I haven't put my finger on it, however, I found a possible substitute. He doesn't deal with it as thoroughly as the paper I remember, but in Dr. Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology (1994, Inter-Varsity Press) page 1162, he writes: "The new creation will not be 'timeless' but will include an unending succession of moments. Although a popular hymn speaks of the time 'when the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more,' Scripture does not give support to that idea. Certainly the heavenly city that receives its light from the glory of God (Rev 21:23) will never experience darkness r night: 'There shall be no night there' (Rev 21:25). But this does not mean that heaven will be a place where time is unknown or where things cannot be done one after another. Indeed, all the pictures of heavenly worship in the book of Revelation include words that are spoken one after another in coherent sentences, and actions (such as falling down before God's throne and casting crowns before His throne) that involve a sequence of events. When we read that 'the kings of the earth ... shall bring into it the gory and honor of the nations' (rev 21:24-26), we see another activity that involves a sequence of events, one happening after another. And, certainly, that is the clear implication of the fact that the tree of life has twelve kinds of fruit, 'yielding its fruit each month' (Rev 22:2). "Since we are finite creatures, we might also expect that we will always live in a succession of moments. Just as we will never attain to God's omniscience or omnipresence, so we shall never attain to God's eternity in the sense of seeing all time equally vividly and not living in a succession of moments or being limited by time. As finite creatures, we will rather live in a succession of moments that will never end." Much of this is highly philosophical. I love philosophy, but only as a handmaiden of theology. I'm glad you are seeking to understand the truth from a Biblical perspective. Keep in mind, however, that none of us will ever have all the answers. Not even in eternity! The blessed hope, however, is that the knowledge we will have in glory will be without error or misconception (1 Cor 13:12). Isn't that exciting? That means that we will never cease learning. Since God is infinite, we will never exhaust the object of our study, either! :-) In Him, Doc PS I have the day off from work, so I had a bit more time to respond. Nevertheless, I always have the sense that I deal with things too hastily. I apologize if I've been unclear or incomplete. |
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