1. Eternal Time And Chronological Time Series

IN GOD'S IMAGE 1 - ETERNAL TIME AND CHRONOLOGICAL TIME

This message is part of a series of 90 sermons based on the title, “In God’s Image – God’s Purpose for humanity.” This series of free sermons or the equivalent free book format is designed to take the reader through an amazing process beginning with God in prehistory and finishing with humanity joining God in eternity as His loving sons and daughters. It is at times, a painful yet fascinating story, not only for humanity, but also for God. As the sermons follow a chronological view of the story of salvation, it is highly recommend they be presented in numerical order rather than jumping to the more “interesting” or “controversial” subjects as the material builds on what is presented earlier. We also recommend reading the introduction prior to using the material. The free book version along with any graphics or figures mentioned in this series can be downloaded at www.ingodsimage.site - Gary Regazzoli

Just before renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawkins died, he released his latest theory on the beginning of the universe.

• According to this theory the universe, which began with the “Big Bang”, or singularity, when time, space and matter came into existence, began from a different dimension of time called “Imaginary Time”.

• Now please don’t ask me to explain this, because other astrophysicists and cosmologists have trouble understanding it.

• This theory of “Imaginary Time” is the latest attempt by Hawkins and others to get around the thorny issue of trying to explain how time, space and matter came into existence at the beginning of the universe.

• Where did all this stuff that makes up the universe today with all the related forces, energy and matter come from?

• Especially when there is nothing measurable in the universe that can bring a universe into existence.

• This has been one of the most difficult and unresolved questions facing the scientific community since the Age of Enlightenment attempted to provide a scientific answer to all of life’s questions.

Rather than speak of an “imaginary time” theory, I would like to talk about a “Divine” or “Eternal Time” theory.

• This theory has been around long before the Enlightenment and as the title implies, speaks of a dimension that cannot be measured scientifically.

• This may seem like an unusual way to start this series of sermons on this subject, but it is imperative we understand the differences between the two dimensions we are dealing with when we deal with the subject of God and humanity.

• This series is entitled, “In His Image” with the emphasis on “His” Image, not “our” image.

• We have to resist the temptation to create God in our image rather than the other way around.

• We need to recognize there is a vast gulf between who God is and the dimension He lives in to who we are and our four-dimensional world of time and space.

• We will deal with God’s nature in due course; in fact one of the major goals of this project is to address the misconceptions (usually negative) surrounding humanity’s concept of God and His nature.

• For the time being though, we need to focus on the two different dimensions inhabited by God and humanity

• We’ll start with the subject of time.

• We will learn there are two types of time, Chronological time and Eternal time.

• We humans live in a four dimensional world, three of space and one of time – we occupy space and we are moving through time.

• This is chronological time and looks something like this. (see figure below).

• As the name implies, chronological time has a beginning and an end.

• Things get a little more complicated when we begin to talk about Eternal time because our only experience of time is in the four dimensional world in which we live.

• However, there was a “time” when our four-dimensional world of time and space did not exist

• This was back before the “Big Bang”!

• For the Big Bang to happen, three separate components had to come into existence at the same time.

• These were, chronological time, space and matter. None of these three components along with their various properties could exist without the other two.

• Outside of a belief in a Creator who was able to create these three components simultaneously, there is no theory that adequately explains how the universe came into existence.

• All scientific theories about the cosmos, including the one mentioned above start with the universe in existence as though it has no beginning.

• To admit otherwise is to acknowledge a higher power with the capacity to bring into existence all things including time, space and matter and to bring them into existence simultaneously.