The Christian’s residence in time is so short, his heart is so carnal, and his mental capacity is so limited, that regardless of his desire to study, he learns so little of the character and works of the eternal God. Everything in the world, with the exception of the grace of God in the elect, is changing for that which is worthless. The inward man of the Christian is changing for the better; while at the same time, his outward man is deteriorating. Therefore, the Christian’s hope in time is in neither a body free from the decaying process nor a society that is getting better. His hope is in Christ, who has promised him a new body in which to dwell in the new heavens and the new earth.

Paul’s message to the Thessalonian saints, concerning Christ’s second coming, the resurrection of the deceased saints, and the transformation of living believers, is our only hope. The suffering apostle said, “…we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words” (I Thess. 4:13-18).

Job’s first step toward recovery was finding his voice, though only to curse the day of his birth (Job 3). We observe Job praying for death (Job 6; 7), desiring the clearing of his character (9:2; 9:32-35), and not only foreseeing, but foretelling the resurrection of his Redeemer. Faith, as God’s gift, supported Job not only under unparalleled privations and suspicions of his friends, but also the object of his faith was Jesus Christ when he said, “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me! If you say, How shall we persecute him? And what pretext for a case against him can we find?” (Job 19:25-28). God is better to the elect than out best desires, and He gives a larger blessing.

How can dead Christians be with Christ in eternity if they are waiting between two temporal events—death and the resurrection? Can there be waiting in eternity? If there is neither time nor eternity, it would be some kind of neutral place. There is no such place; it is either time or eternity. Is Christ present in eternity, and is He coming back into time? If there were an intermediate place, it would have to be in time. How can deceased Christians be waiting in time for their resurrected bodies and be with Christ in eternity simultaneously? One must understand that historical events have no relevance in eternity, but they do in time. Failure to understand at this point eliminates any further understanding. Taking for granted that some comprehend to a degree the difference between time and eternity, the difference may be illustrated by using two familiar statements by Jesus Christ during the days of His first advent. Christ said to His disciples, “…I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going” (John 14:2-4).

An important distinction is made between what Christ said to His disciples in time, and what is eternally prepared for them in heaven. First, Christ goes out of the sphere of sight; but as an unseen Person, His people are united to Him in faith, love, and obedience. God’s message is sufficient as crisis comes to His people, like Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Paul, John, and the disciples, but not in the same way. Peter wrote, “…and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the suffering of Christ and the glories to follow” (I Pet. 1:8-11). Christ said to His disciples, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

One must understand that what is future in time is a present reality in eternity. Christ’s statements, “I will come to you” (John 14:18), “We will come to him and make Our abode with him” (John 14:23), and “I go away, and I will come to you” (John 14:28), show Christ’s presence through the mediation of the Holy Spirit, not His personal presence.

Repeating a statement made earlier in this message, historical events have no relevance to eternity, but they do to time. The adjective “relevant” refers to something connected with the matter at hand. In our present study, it refers to historical events in time. This is the cry of our age: “We need a message that is relevant to our times.” What religionists mean by such language is that they want a system of theology that meets the approval of this corrupt society, a system of teaching that is approved by depraved minds.

Christians know that true theology is relative to the eternal word of God. Hence, believers are continuously attentive and obedient to the eternal word of God which has a message in time for the elect that will have eternal consequences. Obedience to the word leads such believers in time to make proper distinction between eternity and time. They learn that what is future to men is present reality with God. With respect to God, all things have a known and a real existence. Both are simultaneous, because there is no time with the great “I AM.” Time is a state of continuous change; eternity is a state of constancy. Therefore, the believer must understand that when he steps out of time into eternity, he undergoes the final change that will be eternally unchanging. Eternal is an adjective describing God; eternity is a noun designating a state of constancy.

The earth plays an important role in God’s plan (purpose). The Psalmist said, “The heavens are the heavens of the LORD, but the earth He has given to the sons of men” (Ps. 115:16). Planet earth was made for man. Its creation, catastrophe, restoration, and renewal must all be considered in God’s purpose. The created earth was poised in space. Job 26:7 states, “He stretches out the north over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.” Isaiah says, “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in” (Is. 40:22). At Christ’s second coming, some will be in bed, some in the field, and some at the mill (Lk. 17:34-36). The rotation of the earth is seen in the “evening and the morning” (Gen. 1), “day to day,” and “night to night” (Ps. 19). God did not create the earth “a waste place” (Is. 45:18), but it suffered a great catastrophe (Gen. 1:2). It was restored for man’s habitation; but when man fell, it was cursed for man’s sake (Gen. 3:17). However, creation itself will be set free from its corruption when it is renewed. Isaiah said, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind” (Is. 65:17). Peter said, “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (II Pet. 3:13).

Is eternity an ever present “now”? Even in time, the only reality is “now,” but the quality of “now” will be incomparably greater in eternity than it was in time. Christians in time are fearful of wasting the reality of “now,” but there will be no such fear in eternity. We do worry about redeeming the time and what the unknown future holds, but such worry cannot exist in a perfect eternity in persons who have been perfected.

There are many views of the last two chapters of Revelation. These are the major ones: (1) The people of the earth will cry, “Woe, woe”; but the people of heaven will shout their fourfold “Hallelujah” at the destruction of Babylon (Rev. 18:10; 19:1, 3, 4, 6). (2) The new church follows the Jewish age. (3) The New Jerusalem can never belong to the earth. (4) The millennium is the realized kingdom in the church age. (5) Isaiah’s prophecy must refer to Israel’s restoration before the eternal state. (6) The battle between spiritualizing and literalizing will not cease until the millennium. (7) The future state is not completely concealed.

___________________________________
The NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE—UPDATED EDITION is the source of all Scripture quotations in this message, unless otherwise noted.

Copyright ã   2005

This sermon has been written, preached and copyrighted by W. E. Best. While the author retains his copyright to this material, you are invited to copy the sermons or portions of them for your use. But you are specifically forbidden from changing any of the material and from selling it for any financial recompense.  We do not charge for getting out God's Word and we will not support others who do so.