Time Vs. Eternity

That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past. Ecclesiastes 3:15 (KJV)

If we don’t pay close attention to this verse, we may totally miss its meaning. King Solomon, who wrote Ecclesiastes, seems to be talking in circles, but actually he shows an amazing grasp of the concept of eternity. Let’s look at it in a couple other versions or translations.

Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account. (New International Version, NIV)

What now is has already been; what is to be, already is: God retrieves what has gone by. (New American Bible Revised Edition, NABRE)

Whatever was, is. Whatever will be, is. That’s how it always is with God. (The Message, MSG)

Human beings have a hard time understanding the idea of eternity. We live in and are bound by time. We must go through time second by second, minute by minute. Naturally speaking, we cannot stop time, hurry time or go forward or backward in time. You might even say we are trapped inside of time. In our view, everything has a beginning and an end. But, according to the Bible, time is a temporary thing set up by God.

God lives in eternity and He always has. He is not bound by time- He lives outside of time. For God every part of time is in the present. He created time. He carved out a section of eternity, gave it a specific starting point and ending point and called it time. Our past, present and future is all the same to Him. That is one reason He is called I Am (Exodus 3:14). He can move forward and backward in time and see it all as if it is happening now. How else could Jesus be called the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8)? That statement shows that God already completed the work of redemption before man even sinned and needed to be redeemed. He could do it this way because He lives outside of time.

I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ Isaiah 46:10 (New International Version, NIV)

God sees all of time as if it is happening right now. And He views everything as already done and accomplished because He has already been in the future and sees all events as already completed. That is why Jesus said it is finished. His death, burial and resurrection were done before the earth ever had its foundation and it accomplishes everything we need to take care of our past, present and future. And that is how God can tell us things to come through the prophetic- He’s already seen the future.

For some people, this may be a challenging concept to digest, but re-read this post a few times and ponder what I am saying. Having an understanding of eternity, even if it is a limited one, will change how you see your life. Picture God as sitting in eternity and taking a section of it and calling it time. It’s like the difference between being in a certain place and looking at a map of it. When we are standing in a place, all we see is that place and the immediate surrroundings. But, when we pull out a map of that place and the area surrounding it, we are pulling back and seeing a much bigger picture. Looking at a map, some of our limited viewpoint is removed and we can see beyond the immediate place where we are standing and see towns, roads, and regions beyond our current position. With the concept of time and eternity, time is like standing in a place- what we see is limited. God, however, is in eternity, which is like having the map- and He can see beyond where we are.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (New International Version, NIV)

While man finds that understanding eternity is a challenge, God has placed it in our hearts. In the heart of mankind is an understanding that there is more to life than what we see here and now. Understanding God’s entire work from before time began to after time ends is beyond our current limited comprehension, but once those who are born-again join God in eternity, we will be able to understand it much better.

For now we see but a faint reflection of riddles and mysteries as though reflected in a mirror, but one day we will see face-to-face. My understanding is incomplete now, but one day I will understand everything, just as everything about me has been fully understood. I Corinthians 13:12 (The Passion Translation, TPT)