That’s the name of a great book by missionary Don
Richardson.[1]
(See link below)
The two oldest books of the Bible are thought to be Genesis
and Job. Genesis is the story of creation and the beginning of God’s covenant
relationship with mankind through Israel. Job is the story of a man who endures
great tragedy, questions God, is accused by “friends,” but who holds onto God
and is ultimately blessed.
The point I want to make is that in the earliest books of
the Bible the concept of eternity appears.
“Everlasting” is from the Hebrew
word “olam” meaning “time out of mind.” The idea is from God.
The first book of the Bible says that “In the beginning God…”(Gen
1:1) So God alone existed at one point. How far back does that go? The Bible tells
us “Thou art from everlasting…” (Ps 93:2) We can’t grasp “everlasting.” We
can’t see all the way around the world. We can only see to the horizon. Thus
everlasting truly is “time out of mind.”
So God is portrayed as eternal. But it doesn’t stop there.
“Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has
become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his
hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever…” (Gen 3:22-23)
God talks about living forever.
In Job, the other early book, we find this profound
reference.
"For I know that my
Redeemer lives,
and at last he will stand upon the earth;
and after my skin has been thus destroyed,
then from my flesh I shall see God," (Job 19:25-26)
and at last he will stand upon the earth;
and after my skin has been thus destroyed,
then from my flesh I shall see God," (Job 19:25-26)
A few days ago at breakfast in Hershey, Pa, I saw an old
photograph from 1910. A crowd of hundreds was gathered around an old electric
trolley car. It was an anniversary gathering of Hershey Company. I looked at
individual people in the crowd. One man was turned around looking at the people
behind him. He was smiling as if something funny had been said. A woman in a
bonnet dismounted from the trolley. A young boy, maybe 10, looked on. I
thought, if that boy was alive today he’d be 113 years old now. No chance. Those
hundreds of people in the picture are now dead and gone. All their work is
forgotten. Their names are forgotten. Whatever they lived for is long past.
Is there anything beyond death?
Thousands of years before Christ spoke of eternal life, the
Hebrew writers of old talked of eternity. Life does not end at the grave. That
is not God’s intention. Don Richardson is right, God placed eternity in our
hearts.
“For God so loved the
world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish
but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) It’s been God’s idea from the very
beginning.
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