Secrets from Beyond The Grave

Chapter 10 The Time-Light Mysteries and Eternity

Adam lived to be 930 years of age (Gen. 5:5). He has been dead for about 5,080 years. Abraham died at age 175 (Gen. 25:7) and has been gone now for 3,500 years. The apostles were all martyred (except John) from about A.D. 34 to about around A.D. 69; thus they have been in paradise for more than 1,850 years. This seems like a very long time to be in one place. However, eternal time is far different from normal earth time. With the creation of the sun, moon, and stars, day and night, months and years became our time measure. Our time is set as the sun determines the day, the moon cycles the month, and the earth orbiting the sun gives us our solar year. One of the best arguments favoring a divine Creator is that earth is positioned in the heavens in the perfect location. If we were farther from the sun, we would freeze to death, and if we were closer we would all burn. Plant life would cease in either case, as would all life on Earth. The positioning is miraculous! Another reason for the sun, moon, and stars is for "signs and seasons, and for days and years" (Gen. 1:14). The ancient Hebrews divided the day between twelve hours and twelve hours. The day began at six in the morning and concluded at six in the evening. This is why Christ asked, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?" (John 11:9). The month was determined by the four-phase cycle of the moon: from dark to half, from half to full, from full back to half, and finally back to darkness, which was called the "new moon" (Ps. 81:3, KJV). If we were living in a realm where there was no sun, moon, or stars, there would be no concept of time. This is the realm of heaven, the dwelling place of God. The Bible tells us that God dwells in "unapproachable light" (1 Tim. 6:16), which is of His own glory. The heavenly Jerusalem has no need of the sun, moon, and stars, because the Lamb (Christ) is the light of the city (Rev. 21:23). The region of heaven where God, the holy angels, Christ, and the departed saints dwell is lit by the very illumination of God Himself. This glory is pure light and divine energy--very bright--and humans are unable to approach it in their natural forms. This is the same glory that Moses experienced when he saw only the "back parts" of God (Exod. 33:23, KJV) and when he spent so much time in God's presence that his own face had to be veiled (Exod. 34:29-35). This glory was manifested on the Mount of Transfiguration, where Moses and Elijah conferred with Christ and the glory of God caused Christ to glow in a bright light: And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. --Matthew 17:2 Because earth time is set by the cosmic powers of the sun and moon, and these two lights are absent in God's eternal kingdom, time is measured differently in heaven than it is on Earth. First, the Bible teaches that spirit beings need no rest. Those dwelling in paradise have no physical limitations and are spirit forms. Some would disagree and say that at the original Creation, God "rested" on the seventh day (Gen. 2:2). Yet God created all things , including forming man in six creative days, and there was nothing more to create! The word rested in Hebrew does not mean that God became tired and had to take a break or "chill out," as some would believe. It is the word shabath from which we derive the word Shabbat for the seventh day that is set aside for ceasing from our work. There are other words in the Old Testament for "rested," and these allude to lying down, to being quiet and physically resting. God did not rest