Truly in the Bible it is all about time! Time appears about 290 times in Scripture. Time is viewed as a period of time, an appointed time, a proper time, and as a season. Indeed, our times are in God’s hands and for His purpose! God is eternal, meaning He has no beginning, no end, and exists outside the constraints of time. Psalm 90:2 tells us about God’s eternality: “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Since humans measure everything in time, it is very hard for us to conceive of something that had no beginning, but has always been, and will continue forever. The Bible does not try to prove God’s existence of His eternality but simply begins with the statement “In the beginning God…” (Genesis 1:1) indicating that at the beginning of recorded time, God was already in existence. From duration stretching backward without limit to duration stretching forward without limit, from eternal ages to eternal ages, God was and is forever. The eternal nature of our unique God who is omnipresent—resides everywhere at the same time; who is omniscient—exists beyond the borders of our defined space of existence; and who is omnipotent—all-powerful, is impossible for us to imagine, let alone, understand. We recognize that He is the Master of all the dimensions and accept His absolute superiority as truth. The question is “When did time as we know it begin and for what purpose?” And secondly, “Why is it considered to be a gift from God?”
Genesis 1:2 provides a clue: “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Concerning this verse, the old Scofield Study Bible, originally copyrighted in 1909, is my go-to and as a pastor friend would say, “It will preach!” The following is a reference note for this verse. “Jer. 4: 23-26, Isa. 24:1 and 45: 18, clearly indicate that the earth had undergone a cataclysmic change as a result of divine judgment. The face of the earth bears everywhere the marks of such a catastrophe. There are not wanting intimations which connect it with a previous testing and fall of angels. See Ezk. 28: 12-15 and Isa. 14: 9-14, which certainly go beyond the kings of Tyre and Babylon.” As we read these references, we discover that they are linked to the fall of Lucifer with destruction of the old world. This happened prior to the creation of the world into which Adam and Eve were placed. In other words, the Garden of Eden existed in a re-created earth, that had formerly been in a condition of chaos via the chaos dragon--Satan. When the Spirit of God moved upon the earth, Divine order was set forth in the account of Creation in Genesis 1-2 when the concept of time began. On day four, the sun, moon, and stars became visible to divide the day from the night, and for signs, seasons, days and years. The natural day was from sunrise to sunset; and the natural night was from sunset to sunrise. It simply means that each creative day was a period of time marked off by a beginning and ending. We have answered the first question: “When did time begin?” It began with God’s creation account in Genesis 1-2.
Before creation of the heavens and the earth, we must assume that there was only the realm of the eternal. Then Satan fell. His sin produced a monumental rift in the Kingdom of Heaven. We are told very little about the actual effect of his great act of iniquity. But we do know that he corrupted about a third of the angelic host that had formerly been dedicated to the service of God. Satan’s sin of pride and rebellion broke the heavenly law and he and the angels who followed him were cast out of heaven. They had been free to serve the Lord throughout the expanses of the heavens, but sin enclosed him within the restrictions of the Lord’s redemptive timeline. His primary abode had been a glorious eternity whose beauty and peace is far beyond our imagination and expelled to earth and became ruler over the Solar System since to this day, he patrols the earth, regarding it as his own domain. He became the creeping serpent of Eden where Adam and Eve resided. The “original” sin of humankind is an echo of his original sin—to be like God: “Your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3:5) The First Couple fell, just as Lucifer had fallen. And they took humanity down with them, just as Lucifer had taken down a group of rebellious angels. They forfeited the dominion of the earth God had bequeathed to them to Satan who is called the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2); the “ruler of this world” (John 12: 31); and “the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” (1 Jn. 5: 19) This is not to say that Satan rules the world completely; God is still sovereign. Satan is not God—capital G—he is a god—small g. God, in His infinite wisdom has allowed Satan to operate in this “time” with the boundaries God has set for His Divine purposes. At no time can he do all he wants as God restricts his actions. However, Satan can read the Bible and therefore he knows that his “time” is short and drawing to a close. (Rev. 12:12) This presents us with another question: “What time is it on God’s timeline of redemption?”
In the Genesis account of the six days of creation, we find a foreshadowing of the “millennial-day” explanation of God’s redemptive timeline. The six days of creation symbolize the coming six millennia of man’s struggle on earth. Scripture teaches us that a thousand human years are but one day in the sight of God. At the beginning of the first millennium (day one), the serpent tempted man, leading to the great fall of humanity. God placed a curse upon Satan, and the prophecy of the Messiah was given: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between they seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise heel.” (Gen. 3: 15) The important point to remember is the factor of time as the seven-day pattern laid out by God in Genesis: His plan of redemption of the ages.
God’s Plan of the Ages is the understanding of God’s design for human history beginning in Genesis and ending at the close of Revelation. The definite timeline and purpose of God for each age is made apparent through a detailed study of Scripture as the plan is unfolded: 1. the Creation of Humankind and the Age of Innocence, 2. the Fall and the Age of Conscience, 3. the Age of Human Government, 4. the Age of Law, 5. the Church Age or Age of Grace, 6. the Return of Christ and His Thousand-Year Reign, and 7. the New Heavens and New Earth—the Eternal State, the Day of God—God’s grand design from Eternity to Eternity! In effect this placed a time limit upon redemption. Only so much time is allowed before Satan’s and the world’s final sentence is concluded. As we can see from God’s timeline of redemption, we are in the 5th timeframe known as the Church Age which began at Pentecost after Christ ascended back to heaven and has continued almost 2,000 years! At the center of God’s plan of the ages is the Cross upon which Jesus—the Son of God was crucified. The line drawn through the ages according to the Old Testament began in Genesis with the slaying of innocent animals by God as a blood sacrifice for redemption or covering of sin and ends with the Lamb of God in Revelation. The Old Testament sacrifices pointed to the blood shed upon Calvary by the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world. (Rev. 13:8) Redemption in the Old Testament was extended to mankind as they believed God and followed His pattern of redemption. As believers in Christ, we look back to the Cross to Jesus as He laid down His life for the redemption of mankind. (Jn 3: 16, Jn. 10: 17-18, Gal. 1: 4-7)
From eternity past God knew that He would need to be born into the human race in order to save us from the spiritually dead condition that we were in after the fall—separated from Him. God had planned from the beginning to be born into a very small nation or race of people called Israel or the Jews. The Old Testament tells the story of how God set about creating, distinguishing, and preserving that race with the ultimate goal to produce the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would be the Savior of the world. As we know, God first promised the Savior/Messiah after Adam and Eve sinned. (Gen. 3:15) Later, God specified that the Messiah would come from the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Gen. 12) Later still, He narrowed the Messiah’s ancestry to the line of David. (2 Samuel 7) Throughout their history, the people of Israel were aware of their “chosen” status before God. The fact that God has an eternal future for Israel is evident in that five sixths of the Bible bears directly or indirectly upon them—Jesus being the central figure who brought the Jews and Gentiles together in the great mystery—the Church. (Eph. 2: 14) Therefore, it has been said that Israel is God’s timepiece for His eternal plan of the ages.
It was in 1948 that the nation of Israel was recognized as a state after almost 2 millennia and established back into the Promised Land. The Jewish people being reestablished into their land is a key requirement to the fulfilment of Jesus’ teachings concerning Matthew 24: 34 when Jesus said, “this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened” is central to our day as we see so many signs of the end times occurring. WE ARE THAT GENERATION!
God has bestowed upon us His Divine Gift of Time at such a time as this—an Esther moment! The questions is: “What will we do with it?” Let us consider King Solomon’s writings in Ecclesiastes 3: 1-22 as for Solomon, it’s all about time! Solomon assures us that “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” We have all been given a gift of time to be used for God’s purpose as His special child. There is none other in this universe fashioned like each of us—each is different and has unique traits designed for God’s purpose. Think about this “God’s work on earth could not be completed without each of us. Our work has been preordained since the formation of the spheres of time, and no other can accomplish what God has set forth for us to do!” (Ps. 139: 15) God does not want any of our experiences in our life journey to be wasted but according to Romans 8:28 desires that all be used for our good and His glory. Therefore, as we look back upon our past, we must not view our experiences whether good or bad as accidents but a part of God’s unique tapestry He is weaving together for His Divine Purpose. Therefore, we must not drown in our sorrows but consider how God allowed them as part of His unique plan for each of us. Romans 14: 11 says “For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore, whether we live or die we are the Lord’s.” Every moment of every day we belong to Him and will give an account for each day! (v. 12)
Here is a check list as we number our days in relation to how we use our gift of time: 1. Do I obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit or do things my way? 2. Do I ask God about decisions and direction and trust Him to reveal His plan? 3. Am I available to serve God no matter what he requires? 4. Do I desire to please God more than pleasing anyone else in the world—including myself? 5. Do I go to God as my Source knowing that He promises to meet all my needs? 6. Do I recognize that everything belongs to God and everything I have is a gift from Him? 7. Do I view all my difficulties and failures as opportunities for growth? 8. Do I use my gift of time to be about the Father’s business, sharing the Gospel so others will be reconciled to God? “For this very purpose have I let you live, that I might show you My power, and that My Name may be declared throughout all the earth.” (Ex. 9: 16) We were born for this moment—not to shrink back, but to rise up as one filled, overflowing and ablaze with purpose in God’s gift of time!