Is There “Time” In Eternity?

I have been hard at work on three articles which thrill my soul for our future! These articles are about Heaven, and how really-real it is.

As I write, I keep thinking about a specific misunderstanding, which can have the strange effect of removing peoples expectation for the future. This misconception makes the reality of Heaven seem far-fetched, and even unrelatable. Here’s the misconception: “There is no time in Heaven.”

We have become convinced that Heaven is so incredibly different than our present home, that even the progression of time itself is no longer needed. Our hearts sink a little, because that throws our perception of reality into a tailspin… We are created within the limits of linear time; a minute turns to an hour, an hour to a day, a day to a year and so forth. How can we relate with a place that has no time! Then we say “I give up. I’m just going to trust the Lord that this upside-down, inside-out, future is past, past is future, and eternity-is-all-in-one-second type of Heaven is somehow going to seem normal.” We give up trying to look forward to our future Home.

I sense that this misconception could serve to quench the excitement of many people.

From the Bible, I would like to show you that there is time in Heaven! You don’t need to worry that Heaven is some para-dimensional, Star-Trekkie, undefinable, cloud-filled place where we simply play a harp throughout unchanging eternities. Heaven is real life, without all the negatives we have learned to put up with.

So, where do we get the “no more time” misunderstanding? Mainly from one passage.

Revelation 10:5-6 “And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever… that there should be time no longer:”

Ok, an angel stood and sware by God that there shall be “time no longer…” That settles it, right?

Hold on…

Why does Revelation say that there is 1,000 years of Christ’s kingdom before God remakes the universe? This is after the angel declares “no more time.” Why does Revelation 22:2 say that the tree brings forth fruit every month? This is speaking of Heaven!

Apparently there is time in Heaven.

So why does that verse say “Time no longer?”

Sometimes I will watch a sequel to a movie, and I will not understand all the details… Why? Because I missed the original movie. Part 1 comes before part 2. If I don’t see part 1, I won’t understand part 2. This is similar to why we don’t understand this “time” verse in Revelation 10, because we missed Daniel 12!

Check out this passage: Daniel 12:7, I’ll summarize for you… There is a man clothed in white linen, standing on the waters (an angel). The Angel is asked “how long” till the Lord returns to end the Great Tribulation that Daniel was seeing. The Angel raised his hand, and sware by God, that there would be 3 1/2 years (time + times +half a time), from the mid-point of the tribulation (abomination of desolation) to the end when Christ returns.

Part 1 (Daniel 12) says 3 1/2 “times,” part 2 (Revelation 10) says no more “time.”

Time’s up.

There is a big difference between “I’m eradicating the concept of time,” and “Time’s up, people.”

Does that make sense?

I’m convinced that God is not looking forward to that day when “time’s up.”He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that every person would be saved from His justice and wrath. He has given an immense amount of time, but someday He will need to say “Time’s up” and Jesus will assume His place as King over the world.

You ask, “Is there time all the way into eternity?” Yes! God designed time originally, and He declared it good. There are months, years and hours in Heaven. It will be real life, relatable to now, but without the imperfections sin caused. Advanced age, death and sickness will become nonexistent. We will no longer see our life as finite and fragile. Life will be truly eternal.

Does this post relieve your mind a little? If you were glad for this little post, I encourage you to look for the 3 articles soon to come, entitled “The Real Heaven.” We will answer the questions “What Is Heaven?” “Where Is Heaven?” And “What Will We Do When We Get There?”

For the Christian, the best is always yet to come.