Time keeps on slipping into the future

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. John 14:26


We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people. But the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God's Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually. I Corinthians 2:13-14

As Christ Followers, we sometimes are at a disadvantage when trying to read and fully understand the Bible. It is important of course to pray for discernment and understanding. If we do, the Holy Spirit will enable us to comprehend scripture and apply it to our lives successfully. It is also of course important to have a good translation of the Bible, one that is accurate to the original inspired version, yet easy to read and understand. I plan on discussing this further in an upcoming article.

Additionally, the Old Testament was written over a one thousand year period, with the earliest sections being nearly three thousand five hundred years old. The New Testament, while more recently written than the Old, is still nearly two thousand years old itself. So a big impediment to fully understanding the Bible is that we many times do not understand the context, customs, manners, and everyday activities of that time period. This is where commentaries and books which discuss the manners and customs of Biblical time periods can really be a huge help in understanding what scriptures are actually trying to relate to us, the twenty-first century reader of God’s Word.


He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

But, the issue I want to discuss in this article, and in my opinion the biggest impediment to our fully understanding the Bible is simply the fact that we do not, and cannot, correctly understand the concept of time, or more correctly, the absence of time. What we might call “eternity”. We by default comprehend and understand everything in this world we encounter through the lens of our created universe and its limitations. When we do, we place limitations and restrictions on God and things pertaining to the heavenly realm that should not be, including the limitation of time.

Mankind was created to exist within this limited universe. This universe is finite, unlike the heavenly eternal realms which are infinite. This universe, and our planet, was created to include set dimensions. There are four observable dimensions: length, width, and height (or depth); and the fourth dimension is time. For us, time is fixed. It has a start point (Genesis 1:1), and end point (Revelation 21:1), and it moves steadily in only one direction (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11). However, time is not a limitation on God or the things in the heavenly realm. Time there does not exist.

Revelation chapters 21 and 22, the last 2 chapters in the New Testament, paint a picture of life after time. The new heaven and the new earth will be present, and all will be made new. There is no mention of the sun, moon, or stars...only God. He will provide light, and there will be no more night. Time will cease and be no longer. The things which create time (rotation of the earth and revolution around the sun) will be no more. The mechanism by which we measure time (periods of light and dark/day and night) will cease and there will be no more night. Time began as we experience it when God created the heavens and the earth. Time will cease to exist when the new heavens and the new earth are in place.


The LORD reigns! He is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, enveloped in strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken. Your throne has been established from the beginning; you are from eternity. Psalms 93:1-2

The Hebrew word used in the Old Testament most often to convey the idea of eternity is ôlâm. It often gets translated as “eternal” or “everlasting”, but can also mean “time out of mind (past or future), “ancient (time)”, or even the “(beginning of the) world”. This word is being used to convey several meanings, such as something being eternal, something occurring in the future, or something that is very old from the beginning of time. Here are a couple of examples: “The LORD will reign forever and ever!” Exodus 15:18. “I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.” Psalms 77:5

In the New Testament, the Greek word used most often to convey the idea of eternity is aiōnios. It is many times translated as “eternal” or “everlasting” as well, but can also mean “without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be”, “perpetual (also used of past time, or past and future as well)”, “without beginning”, “without end.” So again, the word means more than just “eternity”, but also includes the idea of something perpetual in either the past or the future, and something permanent or endless (without beginning or ending). Here are a few examples: "And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Matthew 25:46. “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation about Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept silent for long ages but now revealed and made known through the prophetic Scriptures, according to the command of the eternal God to advance the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles.” Romans 16:25-26. “So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18.

Time can be a tough concept to understand correctly, but it affects so much of what we try to understand about the Bible and theology, especially eschatology. Time was created for our existence here on earth. Time does not apply to God or things pertaining to the heavenly realm. Time as a dimension, a limitation if you will, does not apply to anything outside of the realm of our universe. This understanding that time does not exist outside of our universe affects questions like: "How long is eternity?", "What happens when someone dies?", and "Does God choose who gets saved, or does free will factor into salvation?” Words in the Bible like "eternal," "everlasting," or "forever and ever" can now be understood in a more correct sense of their original meaning as intended. Not as "time unending, stretching on without end" but rather, a word or phrase that indicates something pertaining to God or His kingdom.

Mary - Queen of Heaven?

While at a local hospital named in honor of one of the Catholic Saints, I noticed at the entrance a large statue of the “Virgin Mary”. On her head was a crown, and circling her head was a ring of twelve stars. At the base of the statue was a title which read “Mary - Queen of Heaven”. Behind the statue was an inscription on a wall which read “Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God,” When I read the title of the statue, I was immediately hit with the implications of that inscription, and wondered if there was an actual reference in the Bible to Mary being the “Queen of Heaven.”


“Don't you see how they behave in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out drink offerings to other gods so that they provoke me to anger. But are they really provoking me?" This is the LORD's declaration. "Isn't it they themselves being provoked to disgrace?” Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: "Look, my anger -- my burning wrath -- is about to be poured out on this place, on people and animals, on the tree of the field, and on the produce of the land. My wrath will burn and not be quenched." Jeremiah 7:17-20


Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, "Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt. This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'As for you and your wives, you women have spoken with your mouths, and you men fulfilled it by your deeds, saying, "We will keep our vows that we have made to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings for her." Go ahead, confirm your vows! Keep your vows! ' Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you Judeans who live in the land of Egypt: 'I have sworn by my great name, says the LORD, that my name will never again be invoked by anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, "As the Lord GOD lives." I am watching over them for disaster and not for good, and everyone from Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine until they are finished off.’” Jeremiah 44:24-27


The Bible does reference a “queen of heaven”, but surprisingly it's not in the New Testament but rather in the Old Testament, in the book of Jeremiah. The prophet Jeremiah warned those in Judah to prepare for captivity by Babylon if they did not repent. The people of course refused, and instead planned to seek protection in Egypt from the coming Babylonian invasion, against Jeremiah’s advice. Jeremiah relayed God’s warning to them not to flee to Egypt, yet they fled to Egypt anyway. God in chapter forty-four pronounces judgment on them for this, and for their continued idol worship, calling out the worship of the “queen of heaven” specifically. This “queen of heaven” was most likely Ishtar. The Babylonians worshiped Ishtar as “The Virgin,” “The Holy Virgin,” “The Virgin Mother,” “Goddess of Goddesses,” and “Queen of Heaven and Earth.”


A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony as she was about to give birth. ... She gave birth to a Son, a male who is going to rule all nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and to his throne. Revelation 12:1-2,5


I began wondering about the crown of twelve stars circling Mary’s head…what exactly did the crown and twelve stars represent? The Catholics portray the “Virgin Mary” many times with a crown of twelve stars. It is taken from Revelation chapter twelve. One source states “Catholic scholars have understood that this referred to both the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles. These, in turn, represent the people of both the Old and the New Covenant, of whom Mary is their Queen. She is Queen of Israel as Mother of Israel’s King, and Queen of the Church, as Mother of the King who is Savior, and thereby of all the redeemed.”


However, the woman in chapter twelve of Revelation with the crown and twelve stars does not refer to the “Virgin Mary”, mother of Jesus, but instead to Israel itself. The book of Genesis chapter thirty-nine relates the story of Joseph and his dreams revealing that one day he would be ruler over his whole family. “Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers. "Look," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun, moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me." He told his father and brothers, and his father rebuked him. "What kind of dream is this that you have had? " he said. "Am I and your mother and your brothers really going to come and bow down to the ground before you? " Gen. 37:9-10. Jacob asks Joseph “Am I and your mother and your brothers” going to bow down to you? He recognized that the sun, moon, and stars were symbolic of himself, Rachel, and his eleven other sons. Jacob, also called “Israel”, his wife, and his twelve sons are symbolic of all of Israel. Jesus the Messiah is born out of Israel, the nation, the people.


When reading in Luke about Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she would give birth to the Messiah, there is no glorification of Mary other than to say she is “favored” by God. Mary even refers to herself as “the Lord’s servant.” When Elizabeth greets Mary, she states that she is “Blessed among women”. When Mary responds to Elizabeth, she does so with a poem of praise for God known as the “Magnificat”, the Latin word for “magnify”. “And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, because he has looked with favor on the humble condition of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed” Luke 1:46-48. In this one verse from the Magnificat, Mary uses all three of the words used to describe herself once again: “favored,” “a servant,” and “blessed.”


When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed! "How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Luke 1:41-43


The Bible never once refers to Mary as “Queen of Heaven” or “Mother of God”. These are names ascribed to her by the Holy Roman Catholic Church. There are four main Catholic Church beliefs regarding Mary, known as “Marian dogmas”. These include: Mary is the Mother of God, Mary was conceived through Immaculate Conception, Mary is a perpetual virgin, and lastly Mary underwent Assumption into Heaven of her body and soul at death.


Mary is referred to as “mother of my Lord” by Elizabeth, but to ascribe the title “Mother of God” to Mary, as the Catholic Church does, is to assign a title of honor to Mary that is nowhere in the Bible stated. The title also greatly contradicts Mary’s own title she ascribes to herself as “the Lord’s servant.” And of course, the mere assertion that God has a “mother”, as humans understand and use the term, goes against sound biblical theology.


It is also believed by the Catholic Church that although scripture never states this, Mary was conceived without sin (immaculate conception) and born free of the curse of original sin. They reason that since she also gave birth to Jesus through immaculate conception, Mary must have been conceived in the same manner. We know of course that this is unbiblical because the Bible itself clearly states that all have sinned, and that only one person, Jesus the Lord, remained sinless and without fault.


The references to Mary as “the Virgin Mary” are meant to convey the fact that she is considered to be a perpetual virgin. This implies of course that Mary remained a virgin throughout her life. Now, we as protestants agree that Mary was a virgin prior to and at the time of Jesus’ birth, the Bible seems to state in several places that Mary and Joseph had normal marital relations after Jesus was born. This resulted, as it typically does, in Jesus having “half” brothers and sisters. The Bible mentions these brothers (possibly up to four) and sisters (possibly two) in the following places: Matthew 12:46-50, 13:55-56; Mark 3:31, 6:3; Luke 8:19; John 2:12, 7:3; Acts 1:14; 1 Cor. 9:5; and Galatians 1:19.


Mary’s Assumption (taking up) into Heaven, both body and soul, at her death is again not found anywhere in scripture. The Catholic Church gives the example of Enoch and Elijah as precedents for others who were taken up bodily, thereby avoiding death. The Bible does state that Enoch and Elijah were taken up into heaven, and of course there will be many more examples of those at the rapture who will be raptured to heaven without seeing death. But again, the Bible never states or even implies that Mary was taken up without seeing death. It is therefore prudent to assume that she did die, and will as Paul describes to the Church at Thessalonica, be present with Christ in the air at the time of the rapture and will be the first to be resurrected.


Mary is a humble servant, blessed among women, and she did find favor with God. She is certainly someone to admire and esteem among followers of Christ. But to ascribe to Mary such attributes as “Queen of Heaven”, “Mother of God”, “perpetual virgin”, “born in Immaculate Conception”, or her “Assumption to Heaven” is to go beyond what the Bible says of Mary, and in my opinion is to place her in a position that Mary herself would not feel comfortable being placed in. It is probably beneficial to simply end by quoting Mary herself, her last recorded statement in the Bible. She was speaking of her son Jesus, and giving directions to the servants at the wedding…

"Do whatever he tells you…" John 2:5

For unto us a child is born; unto us a Son is given

And Yahweh God said to the serpent, "... and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel." Genesis 3:14-15

All the way back in Genesis, the very first book of the Bible, Moses records a conversation between God and the serpent which represents Satan himself. God states “I will put enmity (being actively opposed or hostile to another) between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you on the head, and you will bruise Him on the heel.” This is the very first reference we have in the Bible of the “seed of a woman” being given, a “Son”, who will defeat Satan. God is making a pronouncement of fact and a promise that Satan will have his head bruised, while noting that the Son will be “bruised on the heel” Himself. This is the first mention of the “Gospel of Good News” in the bible (the Proto-Euangelion as it is called), and the first promise of a Son, the “seed of a woman”, that will be “given” to us and for us.

The one enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord ridicules them. Then he speaks to them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath: "I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” I will declare the LORD's decree. He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance and the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with an iron scepter; you will shatter them like pottery." So now, kings, be wise; receive instruction, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with reverential awe and rejoice with trembling. Pay homage to the Son or he will be angry and you will perish in your rebellion, for his anger may ignite at any moment. All who take refuge in him are happy. Psalms 2:4-12

In the Psalms, we have an interesting statement from God to the Nations that David records. God speaks of His “Son”, and not just once but twice, and identifies Himself as the Son’s Father. It is clear by the tone and the wording used that the “Son” this chapter refers to is Jesus the Messiah. This Son is prophesied to rule the world from Jerusalem with “an iron scepter” and “shatter them like pottery.” In the book of Revelation, Jesus is described twice (Rev. 12:5 and Rev. 19:15) as ruling with “an iron rod.” Also, in Revelation 2:27, Jesus Himself quotes this verse in referring to His millennial kingdom reign from Jerusalem. It's not just the New Testament that discusses the “Son of God” (Jesus); the Old Testament also includes references to the “Son of God” for those who look closely.

Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son -- if you know? Proverbs 30:4

In the Proverbs of Solomon, we find in chapter thirty a reference again to God and to His “Son.” The entire chapter, attributed to “Agur son of Jakeh”, provides little nuggets of wisdom. Verse four asks a series of rhetorical questions about who the “Holy One” in verse three refers to, and verses five and six provide the answer: “God.” Who has gone up to heaven and come down? John 3:13 provides the answer: "No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven -- the Son of Man.” Who gathered the wind in His hands? The prophet Amos describes the Creator of the wind: “He is here: the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, the one who makes the dawn out of darkness and strides on the heights of the earth. The LORD, the God of Armies, is his name.” (Amos 4:13). And, in Mark we see that the Lord Jesus controls the wind: “He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Silence! Be still!’ The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:39). Who has bound up the waters in a cloak? Moses in the creation account in Genesis describes the “gathering up” of waters by the Creator: Then God said, "Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.” (Genesis 1:9). Also, Solomon in Proverbs describes the Creator setting a boundary for the waters: “When He set a boundary for the sea So that the water would not violate His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth.” (Proverbs 8:29). Who established all the ends of the earth? Again, the answer is the Creator, and Isaiah describes Him as such: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is unsearchable.” (Isaiah 40:28). The answer is God, and His Son’s name is Jesus. Another Old Testament reference to God’s Son.

For a child will be born for us, a Son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the LORD of Armies will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:6-7

Here again is another Old Testament verse from the prophet Isaiah prophesying the coming Son of God who would reign forever and ever. This is the classic Christmas verse quoted in songs, cards, and plays. Handel’s Messiah uses this verse as its basis, and is often heard at Christmas time. Isaiah wrote this prophetic passage nearly six hundred years before the birth of Jesus, detailing that the “Son given to us” is indeed the “seed of woman” promised all the way back in Genesis chapter three. Just one more Old Testament reference to Jesus, the Son of God. For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given. At Christmas we celebrate the child being born, and recognize the significance of this. This child will be “given” to us, in order to save us from our sins and reconcile us back to God. This Child…”God with us.”

But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated ‘God is with us’." Matthew 1:20-23

Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14