God is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the beginning and the end. In other words, God is eternity. Before anything existed, there was God. After all is over there will be God.
John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
The word eternal means "everlasting, having no beginning and no end.
Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
Eternity has no time it is without beginning and without end. God is eternal. There is no time before and, in the future, God does not exist in time.
God is timeless yet God entered our time. God is in our time and therefore exists in every moment of our time.
Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
Everything which we see now in our time was already in God, complete. Jesus was crucified before the foundation of the world. Salvation was already complete before anything was made manifest.
1 Peter 1:19-21 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Before the foundation of the world, all existed and all will be gathered together in Christ in the fullness of time
Ephesians 1:9-10 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.
God completed all things even before He began. Like an artist, God painted a "megalography” a massive painting. Starting with creation, Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses the Ten Commandments, Jerusalem, the Birth of Jesus, the crucifixion, resurrection and the ascension, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Paul, the Revelation, and right until all things are wrapped up back into Himself. He completed His picture.
God then covered the mega painting with a veil. From the foundation of the earth, God has slowly been busy unveiling His masterpiece. His plan and intent for mankind. The people of faith, the prophets, and priests had glimpses of the painting of God. Right through the Old Testament God slowly revealed His creation and let out secrets of the future to those who found grace.
Even though there were great Prophets who prophesied the coming of the Messiah, they never saw The Messiah in person. The greatest of all prophets John the Baptist pointed to Jesus in person. Jesus Christ the central and most important figure in the Masterpiece. Jesus Christ the focus point of the whole picture the Lamb Crucified.
Matthew 11:11-15 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
God continues to unfold the veil
On a certain day Saul, Paul has an encounter with the artist Himself.
Acts 9:1-20 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Paul persecuted the believers for preaching Christ, he even stood by and watched as they stoned Stephen. Paul had great knowledge of the law and the prophets but no revelation of Jesus Christ. God met with Paul and I believe the fastest conversion ever. In Verse five of the above scripture, Paul asks “Who are You? Then answers, “Lord?”
In Damascus, after Ananias lays hands on Saul and he is filled with the Holy Spirit scales fell from his eyes and Paul is then baptized.
Acts 9:20 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.21 Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.
One moment Saul a destroyer of those who preached Jesus is the Christ, and then suddenly God opens the canvas of his art piece and Paul gets a full revelation of the mystery hidden for generations.
Colossians 1:27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Paul then writes letters, epistles to the churches that today form two-thirds of the New Testament. In these letters, Paul explains how he received a download from heaven.
2 Corinthians 12:1-3 It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—6-7 For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me. 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
Galatians 1:11-12 But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Hidden in Paul’s writings are keys for us today that will open our eyes to see God’s wonderful purpose for all of creation. God continues to unfold His masterpiece to us. A progressive revelation of who God is, His plan for mankind, and His creation.
Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.
It is God’s revelation, His revealed word through the prophets and later the apostles who gave us the New Testament. Today we have preachers who should be hearing the word of God and seeking revelation through the Holy Spirit.
Romans 10:14-15 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”
When God’s word is not heard or rejected, the people cast off restraint. They no longer have a moral standard. They go by their own thoughts, feelings, and opinions. The result is hatred, selfishness, sickness, and every other evil that brings destruction and death.
The progressive character of divine revelation is based on the inspired words of the Bible. What at first is hidden and not seen is gradually revealed through God-breathed words in the scriptures. There will be a day when the truth is revealed in its completeness. The masterpiece is complete in God, God is eternal He is the beginning and the end.
Isaiah 44:6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me, there is no God.
If I snap my fingers or clap my hands you have just experienced eternity. Eternity is not time. When you fall soundly asleep, you know nothing until you wake up. You have no idea that time went by.
If you are put to sleep by an anesthetist, he tells you to count to ten and then before you realize it you are anesthetized. Whether it is an hour of operation or five hours it feels the same, you have no idea what time has gone by.
A person who was in a coma said the following, “The coma was not even blackness. It just does not exist. I remember having the hardest time believing it was actually mid-October when the last day I remembered was late-September.”
God is the master architect the artist who has already completed a wonderful plan for the world. Every minutest detail is in God’s drawings. When the veil is opened and we see the final scene. We will see God’s completed purpose, His intent for mankind will be seen just as He planned it in eternity.
God has never ever lost control or fallen off of His throne because we have messed up things on earth. Our God is perfect in all His attributes. He is perfect in His power. He is perfect in His holiness and justice. He is perfect in His love and mercy. He is perfect in His wisdom and in His omniscience. Therefore, His plan must be perfect.
God wants to open blind eyes to show us how wonderful our future is. The day we believed our blind eyes were opened.
Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
God sovereignly overcomes all evil, chaos, and corruption to bring about His own will. God has created this world. Even though Satan caused destruction in creation, it is God who created evil.
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
God planned all these things so that He might overcome them for His Glory.
God knew evil would contribute to creation. He knew of the chaos and the sin that would be unleashed. Yet God allowed it anyway. God knew that with sin would come perfect judgment over sin, which means sickness, death, judgment, disillusionment, and decay would be put in order.
Within the whole plan of God is Jesus Christ and His greater glory, but even more amazing is the realization that God has planned for us to share His glory and to work it out for us our good as well.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
We get to step into eternity and be part of His perfect plan. Eternity does not start in the sweet bye-and-bye. The moment we believe we have eternity.
John 3:16 (Amplified Bible) 16 “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.
God is eternal which means that He cannot change. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
But we are still being changed. 2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.
God has removed the veil so that we can see. Firstly dimly, but progressively clearer and clearer.
Therefore, the life we have received has not manifested as eternal yet, but it is God's life injected into time to be processed and matured into that unchangeable which He Himself is.
Amen
