Is Eternal Life Real?

Eternity means timeless. It is not easy to describe eternity since everything about us (humans) is limited in time. We talk in tenses (time), we measure our movements and speed with time, and our lives are measured with time in days, months and years. You name it. No aspect of our life is not in time, whereas eternity means that there is no measurement and limitation of time. It means immortality, meaning no beginning and no end. In the Bible, we see God as the eternal one who lives forever (Psalm 102:12, Isaiah 40:28). We also see that God is the one who lives in eternity (Isaiah 57:15). Lastly, God has promised people who believe in his Son this eternal life (John 3:16, 10:28). 

What is Eternal Life?

The New Testament Greek word for “eternal” is aiónios, which carries the idea of quality as well as quantity. If God is promising us eternal life when we believe in Jesus Christ, and that life would entail going on with our daily activities like eating, sleeping, going to work, and meeting the same people forever and ever, then that would be so boring, at least for me, I want more than the usual. Prophetically the Bible promises that eternal life is satisfying in every aspect; those who will obtain it will not hunger any more, they will never thirst, their tears will be wiped away, and they will never die nor mourn nor cry (Rev. 21:4). They will be protected entirely by Christ, who will lead them always to living water. God will wipe away all the tears from their eyes (Revelation 7:15-17). Those who will obtain eternal life will be with God, and in God’s presence, there is total joy forever, and in his right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalms 16:11).

Is God Real? 

Questioning the reality of eternity is, in essence, questioning the reality of God, for God is eternal; he has no beginning and no end (Psalms 90:2), and he dwells in eternity (Isaiah 57:15). It is also questioning God’s word since God has promised his children eternal life in Jesus Christ (John 3:16). Is God real? Yes, he has made himself known to us in three main ways. Firstly, God has revealed himself to us through creation. Like an artist who signs on his artwork, the creation shows God’s invisible qualities-namely, his eternal power and his divine nature (Romans 1:20; Psalms 19). Secondly, God has revealed himself to us in our hearts and made everything that can be known about him plain in us (Romans 1:19). God has written in our hearts his laws so that we are able to know what is morally right and wrong without necessarily being taught. The conscience that he gave us is a revelation of God to us from within (Romans 2:14-15). Thirdly God has given us his scriptures by which we know him. We see his deeds and character explained to us in the Bible because it is the word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Are God’s Promises Real?

God’s promises are real. We take God for his word for two main reasons. Firstly we take God for his word because of who he is. God is accurate, and no deceit can be found in him, for he is not a man that he should lie (Numbers 23:19). To create anything, you must exist out of it and not need it (Isaiah 40:28). God therefore, must be eternal for him to create time. Secondly, God has given us historical evidence that he is faithful and true to his word. In the Bible, He promised Abraham that his descendants will be enslaved in a foreign land for 400 years then he would deliver them (Genesis 15:13-15). After 400 years, he fulfilled his promise through Moses. He had promised them the land of Canaan (Genesis 17:8), which he delivered his promise through Joshua (Joshua 1:6). He also delivered his promise regarding the seed of the woman that will crush the serpent’s head through Jesus Christ (Genesis 3:15). Jesus promised his coming back again for the Saints, and since no scriptural prophecy has failed, we can trust his word that he will be back ( John 14:23-29). All those who will have believed in him in his second coming will enjoy eternal life with him (1 John 5:9-12).

Jesus Came from Eternity

Jesus stated that before Abraham, he was (John 8:58). He meant that he existed before Abraham long before he came in the flesh (John 1:14). He speaks to the Pharisees. He tells them that they are searching the scriptures (the Torah and the Prophets), thinking in them they would have eternal life. Yet, the scriptures are filled with testimonies about him (John 5:39). Such a statement was blasphemous to the Jews since they knew the scriptures only spoke of God, and so here Christ was claiming to be eternal. He was indirectly saying he was God. In his high priestly prayer, Christ prayed that God would glorify him with the glory he had with God before the world began (John 17:5). Paul claimed Christ was equal to God, thus meaning he was eternal as God (Philippians 2:6). Christ was with God from the beginning. With God, he created all things (John 1:1-3). Christ came from the dwelling place of God, which is eternity (Isaiah 57:15) and came on earth without losing his eternal nature. 

Jesus is in Eternity

The Apostle’s creed has every essential tenet of the Christian faith; among them, it reads in part that we believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Writing to the Corinthians, Paul said that without the resurrection, we (Christians) are the most pitted people on earth (1 Corinthians 15:14). The only hope Christians have is the resurrection to eternal life in heaven with God. How do we know that we will resurrect to eternity? We know so because Christ was resurrected. There is so much evidence of the resurrection of Christ; one that is outstanding for me is that at one point after his resurrection, Christ appeared to more than five hundred people at the same time (1 Corinthians 15:6). Imagine five hundred eyewitnesses against you in a court of law, do you stand a chance to win such a case? 

When Christ finished his work on earth, he returned to God’s presence as he was before he came on earth, and now he is seated at the right hand of God (Hebrews 1:3). How do we know that Christ is at the right hand of God in eternity? We have two people who saw him there. One is Stephen, the first martyr. While he was being stoned, he saw the heavens open and Jesus standing at God’s right hand (Acts 7:54-56). The second is John the Apostle, who saw Christ in his glory (Revelation 14:14). 

Knowing Jesus is Eternal Life

God has planted eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 2:11). Every man and woman on earth will live for eternity. The question is, where will you spend your eternity? Will you have eternal life with God in heaven as a righteous person (Matthew 25:24), or will you have eternal torment in hell away from the presence of the glory of God’s power (2 Thessalonians 1:9)? The souls in hell will suffer forever and ever (Revelations 20:10). Don’t be deceived, eternity is real. We begin to experience eternal life here on earth. John 3:36 says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life (John 5:24/John 6:47). Knowing Jesus is eternal life (John 17:3). Today is your day to come to know Christ, assured all who believe in him have eternal life, they have crossed over death, and they will not be judged. You can click here to receive Christ. It will help you come to Christ Today and begin your eternal life.  

Reference

1. Got Questions