Many people think of eternity with Jesus as a span of linear time. That when we’re in heaven, minutes, hours and days will tick by just like they do here on earth. And that when we’ve been in heaven 80 years or so it’ll be like we’ve spent a life-time there with several more life-times to come. I don’t know, they could be right. But I like to think of eternity with God as an existence outside of time itself. After all, God created time, just like he created gravity, just like he created air. But I like to think that he created time specifically for humanity in this plane of existence that in my mind will look very different than what we’ll experience in heaven. Jesus says in John, chapter 8 verse 58:
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
The bible tells us that to God 1000 years as like a day and a day is like 1000 years. That leads me to believe that to him, and maybe even to us when we’re in heaven, time will be irrelevant. I’ve heard it said that Jesus stepped out of eternity and into time for us. And I believe that the bible uses the term “eternity” to explain time in heaven because that is the closest word that will make any sense to us. Does any of this matter in the grand scheme of things? Probably not, but I do like to think about stuff like this from time to time.
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Jesus says that before Abraham was born, I am! Sure, that could literally mean that Jesus lived in a linear timeline well before Abraham was born and at a specific point in the timeline, he decided to come to earth as our Messiah. But I like to think of heaven as being devoid of time. I can’t imagine what that would look or feel like - just a perpetual state of being I guess. In any case, God says that he is the same, yesterday, today and forever. And whether that is linear or not, knowing that he is eternal and that he never changes is a comforting truth.