Enterprise

ENTERPRISE

Musing
on the passage of time and the approach of eternity caused many
questions to come to mind. Then while pondering these queries another
occurred, "Is it worthwhile for us to delve into these things or
should they be laid aside as something unprofitable for Biblical
research?" 2 Tim 2:23 But foolish and unlearned questions
avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.

The
answer to this question seems simple; 'If answers are found in the
Word, then these things are profitable for us while those things
about which God remains silent are best left to the speculation of
the world's philosophers.' 2 Tim 3:16 All scripture
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:

2
Tim 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished
unto all good works.

The
title of this piece is derived from a popular television series of
the recent past. The job of the Enterprise was to "go where no
man had gone before" Now, I do not pretend to be breaking new
ground for I am sure many others have gone this way before. On the
other hand, after over fifty-five years of Bible Study I,
personally, have never delved into these thoughts. So, to paraphrase
the introduction to that T.V. show, 'I will boldly go
where I have never gone before' If you would
like to come along for the ride, have a seat and fasten your seat
belt. It could be a bumpy ride as many of your concepts of Time and
Eternity are challenged. I know mine were.

This
is not intended to be neither a scientific treatise nor an expounding
upon obscure theological points. I do not flatter myself that I would
be capable of such endeavors.

Here
are a few of the questions that came to my mind. Others may be added
to the list but these will suffice for the beginning of the trek.

1.
If an omnipresent God is not confined by space can an eternal God be
confined to or restricted by time?

2.
Is Time a straight line? Is it constant or can it be altered in any
way?

3.
Is there any past or future in eternity?

4.
Does time pass in eternity or Could a 'young earth' be 'billions' of
years old?

5.
Is time relevant when thinking of the work of the eternal God except
as it relates to man?

6.
Could simultaneous events be separated by time?

7.
Could events separated by time be simultaneous?

8.
Can effulgent light be enclosed in palpable darkness?

9.
Can the creator be restricted by the laws of physics which govern His
creation?

10.
Do the proven facts of 'General or special Relativity' relate to
God? To the Bible?

11.
Is it an 'oxymoron' for the Eternal God to speak of the 'Fullness of
Time'? Why not?

QUESTION
NUMBER ONE

1.
If an omnipresent God is not confined by space can an eternal God be
confined to or restricted by time?

The
fact of God's omnipresence is without question. The Bible is clear
that He is always present in every place.

Upon
the completion of the Temple, Solomon said at its dedication,
1 Ki 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth?
behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how
much less this house that I have builded?

David
exclaimed in song, Psa 139:7 Whither shall I
go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

Psa
139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed
in hell, behold, thou art there.

Psa
139:9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost
parts of the sea;

Psa 139:10 Even
there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

Concerning
the wicked who try to escape judgement God said, Amos
9:2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them;
though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:

God
said of Himself, Jer 23:23 Am I a God at
hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?

Jer 23:24 Can
any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith thR
LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

Other
citations of scripture could be multiplied, but these suffice. We
turn then to the other part of the question; Is the eternal I Am
constrained by the restrictions of time? Why ask this question? If,
as some men, even some scientists, now believe, Time Travel is
theoretically possible, could man escape God's judgement by fleeing
into the darkest recesses of the past? Let us not waste time in
speculation but simply allow God to give a forthright answer. Isa
57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth
eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place,
with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the
spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

On
more than one occasion, He identifies Himself as the 'I Am' .Exo
3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus
shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto
you.

Isa
43:13 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can
deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it? If our
theoretical time travel could take us back even before the 'evening
and the morning were the first day' it would not help us to escape
judgment for He would be there!

John
8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
Abraham was, I am.

The
term, 'I Am' covers both space and time. Isa
57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth
eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy
place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to
revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the
contrite ones.

Though
the concept is strange to us and hard for temporal minds to
comprehend, God is neither confined to the present nor is He
restricted by the constraints of time as it controls us. This is
shown in several ways.

It
is shown by the fact that Christ's death was real to God long before
it actually occurred. Rev 13:8 And all that
dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written
in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world. Regardless of the interpretation man has tried to place
on these words, the fact remains, Because God IS eternal and dwells
in eternity, He sees all of time as being present. He is the I Am,
not the 'I will be' nor the 'I Was', but the eternal one to whom past
and future is constantly present. An acknowledgement of this and
acceptance of it will immediately remove all difficulty in
understanding the Foreknowledge of God and reconciling that with the
Free Will of man, who must operate in 'time'.

Another
example of this is seen in the twelfth chapter of the Book of the
Revelation. In showing John this vision God presents things which
actually happened from eternity to eternity as well as in time and
displays them all as in the present.

Rev
12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed
with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown
of twelve stars:

Rev
12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained
to be delivered.

The
woman is Israel and the time was around two thousand years ago when
Christ was made flesh. Gal 4:4 But when the
fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a
woman, made under the law,

Rev
12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great
red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon
his heads. Satan, as the beast is introduced as he appears
during the Tribulation .

Rev
12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and
did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman
which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as
it was born.

Here
is a great example of time being eternally present with God! John
sees the dragon [Satan] as the one whose tail drags the stars
[angels] from heaven. Jesus referred to this event as He explained
His power to cast out demons; Luke 10:18 And
he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Jude
speaks of it in respect to the falling of some of the angels; Jude
1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their
own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness
unto the judgment of the great day.

Isaiah
describes the event; Isa 14:12 How art thou
fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut
down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

Isa
14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon
the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

Isa
14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like
the most High.

Isa 14:15 Yet
thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Ezekiel
tells us a little more of the event; Ezek
28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set
thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up
and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

Ezek
28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast
created, till iniquity was found in thee.

Ezek
28:16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst
of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast
thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee,
O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Ezek 28:17 Thine
heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy
wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I
will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

This
is the description of the angel Lucifer and how he fell and became
the one we know as Satan. When did it occur? It all happened in that
part of eternity after God had created the angels as spirits and
before the evening and the morning became the first day. Yet this is
shown to John as in the present!

and
the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered,
for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

The
same one who caused the fall of one third of the angels attempts to
destroy the child, [Christ] This was carried out shortly after the
birth of Christ and the town of Bethlehem felt the effects of it. Mat
2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was
exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were
in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and
under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the
wise men.

Mat
2:17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet,
saying,

Mat 2:18 In Rama
was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great
mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be
comforted, because they are not.

Though
it had occurred many years earlier, John saw it as in the present.

Rev
12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations
with a rod of iron:

Now
John sees Christ as the King of Kings who shall rule during the
millennial.

and
her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

He
sees again, the ascension he witnessed a few years before on the
mount of Olives.

Rev
12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place
prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two
hundred and threescore days.

This
occurs during the last half of the tribulation.

Rev
12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought
against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

Rev
12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in
heaven.

Rev
12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the
Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out
into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

At
this point John beholds an event which is yet to happen as Satan and
his angels are permanently cast out of heaven.

All
these things are seen by the writer as though they were transpiring
before his face though the events themselves were separated by long
periods of time. Of course, we know that this was all a vision and
that God could have made him to see anything he desired in a vision.
This was proven in the many other visions described in the Book. The
remarkable thing however and that which is pertinent to our
investigation, is not WHAT was seen but that God was showing them
from the Divine perspective and they were ALL IN THE PRESENT.

QUESTION
NUMBER TWO

2.
Is Time a straight line? Is it constant or can it be altered in any
way?

The
first reaction of myself and those to whom I have posed this question
has been, "Yes. Time is constant." After all we have all
sorts of methods for measuring time and do we not see all things
around us aging at a uniform rate? But then we think of a couple of
Biblical examples of time being altered.

Josh
10:12 Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD
delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said
in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou,
Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.

Josh
10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people
had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the
book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and
hasted not to go down about a whole day.

God
had decreed that the sun should rule over the day and the moon should
rule over the night.

Gen
1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the
day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

Gen
1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light
upon the earth,

Gen
1:18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the
light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

The
question comes to mind; How did God accomplish this miracle of the
long day? Did He cause the earth to cease spinning on its axis? Did
he alter the movement of the sun and the moon? Did He cause some
local phenomenon to occur which only seemed like a long day in that
locality?

If
He had caused the earth to suddenly stop rotating he would also have
had to cancel the laws of motion. Newton expressed it thus; 'A body
in motion tends to remain in motion in a constant direction at a
constant speed until acted upon by an outside force.' When a car
travelling at sixty miles an hour suddenly hits a wall the occupants
and all other loose objects keep moving and are thus tossed through
the windshield or are smashed inside. The surface of the earth is
moving at a far greater speed than any car can travel. A sudden stop
would cause the tides to sweep over the land, the rocks and mountains
to become lethal objects and general chaos would ensue. Certainly,
God could have suspended this law of physics had he desired. There is
no indication however that he did so. Had He done it that way, the
battle could not have been fought. Slings would not have performed
their proper function in battle. Swords and spears would have been
ineffective and the entire battle would have been a farce as arrows
fell harmlessly at the feet of the archers.

On
the other hand, if it was accomplished by somehow altering the course
of the sun and the moon we are faced with another problem. God's
decree was that the sun should rule the day and the moon, the night
If Time had marched inexorably on while this was happening, then the
sun would have had to rule over that part of the long day which
belonged to the night This could not have happened according to the
decree of God in the beginning Gen 8:22
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat,
and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

This
event was not a local phenomenon. The historical records of Greece,
Egypt, China, Mexico, and Palestine all speak of a long day
corresponding to the time of Joshua's conquest of the promised land.

The
only method of carrying out such a feat would have been to alter time
so that the sequence of night and day would remain constant. Could
this be possible?

In
his theory of relativity, Einstein presented such a possibility. His
idea seems to have been that as the speed of light is approached,
time itself is slowed. Later experiments by scientists have confirmed
this. Now, if finite man can confirm such a thing, it would be a
small thing for the infinite I Am to perform.

During
the reign of Hezekiah another such modifying of time transpired. 2
Ki 20:10 And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow
to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten
degrees.

2
Ki 20:11 And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought
the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the
dial of Ahaz.

On
this occasion, time was not stopped but actually turned back. Using
methods which are far beyond my comprehension, astronomers have been
said to have confirmed both these events. It is sufficient for me to
know that the God, in whose hand I rest, is not the servant but the
Master of Time and eternity.

QUESTION NUMBER THREE

3.
Is there any past or future in eternity?

Until
such questions were contemplated, the answer would have been a
resounding 'NO!'. Eternity was seen as an ever present NOW with no
thought of a future and no memory of a past. Upon reflection however
such a state, however would constitute a sort of 'limbo' in which
nothing could take place. This is NOT how the Bible presents the New
Heaven and the New Earth.

There
can be no question but that place is in the eternal age. There will
be no death and there will be no night but there will be things
happening. Events will transpire. The activity of that New Earth as
described in the Word makes this clear.

There
is activity; Rev 21:26 And they shall bring
the glory and honour of the nations into it. Activity, by it's
very nature relates to time.

In
spite of the fact that it is eternal, and there will be no night,
time will still be measured. There will be 'months';
Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the
river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of
fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of
the tree were for the healing of the nations. Remember, this is
NOT describing a transition state but is the final and eternal age.

There
are statements by Solomon which seem to
give a different view.

Eccl
1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that
which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing
under the sun.

Eccl
1:10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it
hath been already of old time, which was before us.

Eccl
1:11 There is no remembrance of former things;
neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come
with those that shall come after.

It
must be noted, however, that Solomon was not speaking of eternity,
but of that which happens under the sun. The entire book of
Ecclesiastes is about mans responsibility to God in THIS LIFE. His
statement in this eleventh verse is a statement of fact and a
wonderful refutation of those who claim to remember former lives or
to be able to perceive the future. This is not in man's sphere of
knowledge. It is reserved for the I Am. Isa 46:10 Declaring the
end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are
not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my
pleasure:

QUESTION
NUMBER FOUR

4.
Could a 'young earth' be 'billions' of years old?

One
of the most controversial questions among scientists as well as
theologians concerns the age of the earth. It varies from the six
thousand plus of Usher to the timeless earth of the 'steady state'
theorists. In between lie various other theories including the 'Big
Bang' and it's adherents who seem to think the expanding universe
would have taken at least four and a half billion years to reach its
present size. One of the arguments given for the old age of the earth
is the perception of man that it would have required this time for
fossil fuels, coal and oil, to have developed.

Bible
scholars are almost as divided. There are those who think it all was
created about six thousand years ago at nine o'clock on a Sunday
morning.

Others
think it was created in the vast aeons of time before Adam and was
re-constructed in preparation for it's human inhabitants then. My own
personal belief coincides most closely with this idea.

There
seems to be a time break between the first and the second verses of
Genesis chapter one. The statement that 'the earth was without form
{tohuw] and void [bohuw]' could as
well have been translated 'became without--' In view of some
of the other statements of the Bible, this seems to have been exactly
what happened. Isa 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the
heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath
established it, he created it not in vain [tohuw], he formed
it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

The
description of the earth in Genesis 1:2 describes the earth as
without form and void. [tohuw and bohuw] In Isaiah 45:18 God
Himself said he did NOT create it that way!. Because of His very
nature, God could not have created an earth of desolate confusion. 1
Cor 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of
peace, as in all churches of the saints.

He
created the earth ready to be inhabited

Many
'theistic evolutionists' place the original creation of Genesis 1:1
in the same time frame as their 'steady state' counterparts. To
them, each of the six days of creation describes the successive ages
of development as evolution steadily wrought its work.

There
are some FACTS about the creation upon which we can rely because they
are truths presented by the creator.

1.
The creation was instant. It was not formed over a long period of
time

Psa
33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host
of them by the breath of his mouth.

Psa
33:7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he
layeth up the depth in storehouses.

Psa
33:8 Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the
world stand in awe of him.

Psa
33:9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded,
and it stood fast.

2.
The same power which created it also sustains it. Heb
1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of
his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when
he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the
Majesty on high;

Col
1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and
that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or
dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by
him, and for him:

Col 1:17 And he
is before all things, and by him all things consist.

3.He
did not have to mine somewhere in the nether world or borrow from any
other source for the material. He created it from the endless supply
of His own power. Rom 1:20 For
the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his
eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

As
men who deny God search for answers to the origin of the universe,
they remind one of the old story of the Blind Men and the Elephant.
One feels of its tail and concludes that an elephant is like a wiry
rope. Another, feeling of his side assumes that this animal is like a
house while another embraces a leg and declares emphatically that it
is like a tree trunk. Still another feels of an ear and comes to the
conclusion that it is like a large fan while another states without a
doubt that an elephant is some form of huge snake as he feels of its
trunk.

Each
of these men had some of the correct information but refused to place
that information in it's proper relationship to the whole.

Consider
the so called,"Big Bang Theory" Without a doubt, the
universe is expanding. Why, however should it be considered
impossible that the beginning should have been in a more recent time?
The answer seems to be .'that it would have taken it four and a half
billion years at the speed of light for the outer most parts to have
travelled that far'. But the blind man is examining only the tail of
the elephant.

On
the other hand, Bible scholars often dismiss, out of hand the
findings of science simply because those findings were used to try to
prove unbiblical theories.

Consider,
for instance the so-called Big Bang theory and its expanding
universe. Because, we are told that it would have taken four and one
half billion years for the universe to expand from the 'flash point'
to its present size then it must be that old. We are not told where
the material came from or what ignited the explosion but that it all
happened a long time ago.

When
we place God in the equation of creation, the "big Bang"
takes on an entirely different appearance. Since space does NOT
CONTAIN God and He dwells in eternity, who is to say that He did not
create the heavenly bodies and place them near their present
locations? Since time is not relevant to an eternal God and we know
only that the creation took place before man was introduced to the
scene is the actual time of the creation relevant? Could it not have
occurred at any point in the eternal ages before the first day? Time
as we know it is of no consequence whatever in the deliberations as
to the creation of the universe. I like the simplicity of a bumper
sticker seen recently, "The Bible Big Bang - God Spoke and BANG
it was done." The Bible simply says that He put them in place.
Could he not have placed them billions of light years distant in the
very beginning had he so desired? This would certainly have posed no
problem for an omnipotent God.

Almost
sixty five years ago, while in the fifth grade, we were given, each
week, a copy of the 'Weekly Reader' Each week I remember devouring
its pages with great enthusiasm. One week I read on the front page of
a fossilized bone which had recently been discovered. It was reported
to be millions of years old because it would have taken at least that
long for the minerals of the earth to have fossilized it.

On
one of the inside pages of the same issue of the 'Weekly Reader' was
another article, with pictures, of people whose well water was so
filled with minerals that they were making a living selling 'fossils'
they made by suspending bones or other artifacts on strings into the
water for several months. My naive little country boy mind was made
to wonder,"Can this be consistent?" I still wonder about
the declarations of the spiritually blind as they examine the
elephant called 'creation'. When the creator is left out of the
equation none of the facts seem to fit. On the other hand I have
never seen a proven FACT of any science that did not strengthen my
faith in the infallible Word of the Creator.

QUESTION
NUMBER FIVE

5.
Is time relevant when considering the work of the eternal God except
as it relates to man?

This
question has a great deal in common with the previous one. The
difference is, that while the last question was concerned with the
creation of the earth, and it's biological age, this deals with all
the work of God before Genesis 1:2.

It
is a temptation to slip into the poetic language often used in
speaking of these things and refer to something like. "the dim
dark council halls of eternity" .If I were trying to put my
thoughts into a poem I just might succumb to the temptation but for
now will speak as clearly as possible of these things as they are
revealed in God's Word.

A
series of events are disclosed to us in the Word. The first seems to
have been the creation of spiritual beings called 'angels'

Angels
are not, as some suppose, co-existent with God in eternity. They are
created beings.

Psa
104:4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

Heb 1:7 And of
the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers
a flame of fire.

In
His challenge to Job God reveals the fact that they were present at
the foundation of the world. Job 38:3 Gird
up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer
thou me.

Job
38:4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?
declare, if thou hast understanding.

Job
38:5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who
hath stretched the line upon it?

Job
38:6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the
corner stone thereof;

Job
38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all
the sons of God shouted for joy?

There
is no reference to how long before the foundations of the world were
laid that these beings were created. How could there be when time, as
we know it, did not yet be? But how can there be a sequence of
events without a specific time between them? Perhaps others can
fathom this. All I know is that according to Einstein and since
confirmed by others including NASA astrophysicists, even time is
stopped in its tracks in a 'Black Hole' while going its merry way
elsewhere. The angels dwell in the presence of the eternal one and do
not grow old while ministering to successive generations of humans
who propagate, grow old and die.

In
the sequence of events before the first day, not only were the angels
created and the earth made, but a glorious archangel named Lucifer
was made ruler of that earth. Using the king of Tyrus as a foil
Ezekiel speaks of it. Ezek 28:14 Thou art
the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast
upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the
midst of the stones of fire.

Ezek 28:15 Thou
wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till
iniquity was found in thee.

Isaiah
tells us his name and his sin and his fate. Isa
14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the
morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the
nations!

Isa
14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon
the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

Isa
14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like
the most High.

Isa
14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the
pit.

Jesus
told his disciples that He was there and saw the fall of Lucifer who
by his deeds became known as Satan. Luke 10:18 And he said unto
them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

This
fall caused the earth to become without form and void and darkness to
envelop it all. The Spirit of God then brooded over the destroyed
creation. Gen 1:2 And the earth was without
form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the
Spirit of God moved [brooded or fluttered] upon the face of
the waters.

Without
a doubt there were a series of events beginning with the creation of
the angels and culminating in the command, "Let there be light"
How much time went by? Was it billions of years or was it all
consummated in a matter of minutes? Is time relevant since it did not
exist then?

QUESTION
NUMBER SIX

&

QUESTION NUMBER
SEVEN

6.
Could simultaneous events be separated by time?

7.
Could events separated by time be simultaneous?

space-time,
central concept in the "special-relativity.html"theory
of relativity that replaces the earlier concepts of space and
time as separate absolute entities. In space-time, events in the
universe are described in terms of a four-dimensional continuum in
which each observer locates an event by three spacelike coordinates
and a timelike coordinate. The choice of the last is not unique;
hence, time is not absolute but is relative to the
observer's frame of reference.

The
foregoing is from the introduction to a scientific article found on
the internet. the italics in the last line are mine. They mark the
words which point up the essence of this question.

Since
these are two sides of the same coin we shall regard them as one.
Consider the following hypothetical possible event.

With the use of the
Hubble telescope we are told that we can now see up to ten billion
light years into the past. Suppose an event such as a supernova
occurred at the five billion year range and another at the one
billion year range. Theoretically at least, the events, though
occurring four billion years apart, would be seen as happening
simultaneously. On the other hand, If the events did occur
simultaneously, the one at the greater distance would not be seen
until four billion years later.

What
is the significance of this for us? Man has long struggled with the
concept of the foreknowledge of God. How can one reconcile the fact
that God knows the end from the beginning with the free will of man?
If God knows what will happen doesn't that mean that He has
determined before hand that it WILL happen?. From our reference point
in time it only seems logical that if God has prophesied something He
MUST cause it to come to pass. This, of course would make Him
responsible for the actions of the evil men of whom He prophesied
afore time. Yet it is clear that man was created with a free will and
is held responsible for his own actions. Ezek 18:4 Behold, all
souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the
son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

God,
however, does not see these things from our reference point. Being
the eternal I Am and dwelling as he does in eternity, He sees from
the reference point of the eternal present. Thus, Christ stood as a
lamb slain from the foundation of the world but was manifested in
time for our benefit. 1 Pet 1:19 But with
the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and
without spot:

1 Pet 1:20 Who
verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was
manifest in these last times for you,

Acts
2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have
crucified and slain: Isa 46:9 Remember the former things of
old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is
none like me,

Isa
46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times
the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and
I will do all my pleasure:

God's
reference point being eternity makes it a simple thing for Him to
prophesy events long before they are exhibited in time.

This
is a truly wonderful thing! So-called intellectuals have long
belittled the idea of biblical prophesy as being superstitious
nonsense. Then, in one fell swoop they have destroyed their own
arguments and justified that which Christians have long treasured by
faith. Biblical Prophesy stands vindicated by
science!

QUESTION
NUMBER EIGHT

8. Can effulgent
light be enclosed in palpable darkness?

The
following are truths to be considered as we approach this question;

1.God
is light

2.
This light exceeds any other in the universe.

3.It
is so powerful or has such properties as would be destructive to man.

4.It
must be hidden or veiled in order that God might interact with man.

5.
Only when man has a new body will he be able to look upon His
Glory.

God IS Light. This
is truth because His Word declares it and His works have proven it.

1
John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and
declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at
all.

One
must note that in this passage there are no adjectives modifying the
word 'light'. It does NOT say that God is a
light of a particular color or strength or of any
particular property. Through the entire spectrum of all we know as
light God is the source of it all.

Bible
scholars have long used the term 'effulgence' in speaking of the
glory of God for want of a better expression. Like human speech in
every other case, we seem to fall short of being able to express the
ultimates or absolutes needed to verbalize the whole truth about the
most high God. The writers of the Bible used various ways of
expressing this aspect of God's person.

Hab
3:3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah.
His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.

Hab
3:4 And his brightness was as the light; he had
horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.

Rev
1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth
went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun
shineth in his strength.

Acts
26:13 At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above
the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which
journeyed with me.

2
Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall
consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of his coming:

Heb
1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express
image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his
power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right
hand of the Majesty on high;

Exo
24:16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the
cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses
out of the midst of the cloud.

Exo 24:17 And
the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top
of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.

James
1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and
cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning.

Rev
21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to
shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the
light thereof.

Rev
21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the
light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and
honour into it.

Rev 21:25 And
the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be
no night there.

Everyone
is aware of the beneficial effects of light upon the earth and its
creatures. Without it plants don't grow and most living creatures
suffer from deprivation in various ways. We also are painfully aware
of the effects of being exposed to too much light or to certain
properties of light. A few hours at the beach has ended in
excruciating sunburn. Being exposed to an arc welder without the
right protection can end in extreme pain or even blindness. X-rays
and radioactive wavelengths can be beneficial or deadly according to
the amount received and how controlled it is.

Perhaps
the ultimate in man made brilliance has been manifested in nuclear
explosions. Some of the things reported after the dropping of the
first atomic bombs almost defy human reason. There were stories of
shapes of people being burnt on walls as if they were impressions on
photographic film. Another incident was an anti-aircraft gun crew
which was some distance from the center of the blast and was
otherwise unharmed. They were gazing directly at the area of the sky
where the blast occurred and their eyes were actually melted in their
sockets. Is it possible that light can be bright enough to do that?
Read what Zechariah has to say about the brilliance of the glorified
Christ at His coming with all his saints; Zec
14:12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all
the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall
consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall
consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in
their mouth. Paul also tells of this coming event; 2 Th 2:8
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume
with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness
of his coming:

All
these things serve to remind us that though light is useful,
beneficial and even essential, it is also harmful when too strong or
proper preparation for its use is not made..

The
question then comes to mind; How can God, whose brilliance and glory
infinitely exceeds any light either man made or found anywhere in
nature, inter-act with his creation without causing it to be
destroyed? The Bible not only tells us of the destruction of the
Antichrist and his armies when exposed to such effulgence, but that
even the universe itself will be forced to flee from such a presence.
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne,
and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled
away; and there was found no place for them.

2
Pet 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;
in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works
that are therein shall be burned up.

At
first this problem seems as unsolvable as the legendary classic about
the man who invented a solvent capable of dissolving ANYTHING. He
could never market it because he couldn't figure out what sort of
container would hold it! However, God had the answer to how His glory
could benefit creation without destroying it. He enfolded his LIGHT
in darkness! How could this be? Is it not axiomatic that darkness
must flee in the presence of light? Yet this is precisely what God
said he did. 2 Sam 22:12 And he made
darkness pavilions [tabernacle or tent] round about him, dark waters,
and thick clouds of the skies.

1
Ki 8:12 Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the
thick darkness.

Psa
97:2 Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and
judgment are the habitation of his throne.

Psa
18:11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about
him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

These
passages set forth the fact that the ultimate Light, the very essence
of brilliance, encloses Himself in darkness and yet darkness must
flee before the light of even the feeblest candle. If we can find no
answer to this difficulty then skeptics will surely say, "Aha,
we have an impossible situation presented in the Scriptures". "A
mistake in the Bible!", will be their cry.

For
those of us who have faith in the infallibility of the Bible and the
power of an omnipotent God, it is enough that God said it is so. The
one who commanded the light to shine can, if it pleases Him, command
it to not shine. It is as simple as that. For the skeptic this is not
enough. He must have his answer.

One
of the long accepted rules of apologetics is that when faced with any
problem in the Scriptures, a possible answer is all that is necessary
to eliminate the difficulty and answer the skepticism. One does not
have to prove that it is the correct answer but simply that there is
a possible solution.

As
I surfed the web in search of answers to my questions concerning the
time-space continuum, I found articles by scientists of N.A.S.A. and
of several university astronomers. Some of their findings as they
sought proof of Einstiens theories caught my attention. Black Holes
are accepted as actually existing. Though they cannot be seen the
evidence of their presence seems irrefutable. The reason they cannot
be seen is that sight requires light and the gravity is so powerful
in these places that even light cannot escape. A massive black hole
is found in the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. Also, according to
the calculations of Einstien and others, even time is brought to a
standstill there. Isa 57:15 For thus saith
the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy;
I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a
contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and
to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

One
of the scientists also stated, "The bizarre nature of Einstiens
equations suggest that black holes should theoretically lead to
parallel universes." Note that Isaiah wrote that God dwelt in
eternity with contrite and humble spirits.

I
am definitely NOT contending that black holes are the entrance to
heaven! All I am saying is that for those who mock the idea of a
Holy, Glorious God who dwells in thick darkness with angels and
departed saints, here is a possible answer to your objections. These
possible solutions were not dreamed up by Christian but came from the
research of men who, for the most part were unbelievers.

QUESTION NUMBER NINE

9.
Can the Creator be restricted by the laws of physics which govern His
creation?

Civilization
has been able to grow and develop as man has invented methods and
machinery according to the laws which control nature. Natural law is
logical and by following logical reasoning man has steadily increased
his knowledge and thus his development of all things which he
perceives as making his life more meaningful.

He
has not yet reached the threshold of limitations of his advances. In
the early days of human progress, as man attempted to reach into the
heavens by building a tower, he was stopped by God. Those attempts to
conquer space by the use of mud bricks and slime mortar may seem
laughably feeble to us. God, on the other hand knew something about
man and saw that he was about to go beyond the limits God had set for
Him at that time. Gen 11:6 And the LORD
said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and
this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them,
which they have imagined to do. By simply using his God given
ability to use logic man can and has done amazing things. What would
have seemed like magic or a miracle to one generation becomes
commonplace to the next. He has not yet reached the limits of the
wonders he can accomplish. Dan 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up
the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall
run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

There
are limits however to what man has ever done or will ever be able to
do. His every advance has been made by the application of the laws of
physics. In nothing has he been able to violate those laws. In trying
to go beyond these rules man is like the little boy who attempts to
fly by jumping from the garage roof wearing an Superman cape or those
who thought they could fly while under the influence of drugs..All
the sincerity and strong desire in the world cannot overcome the laws
of nature. Before man could fly he had to learn something about
aerodynamics. Before he could go into space he had to learn about
things like 'thrust' and 'escape velocity'. All attempts to violate
any of natures laws have ended in disaster.

Is
God bound by these same laws? Absolutely not! When Jesus ascended
from the Mount of Olives he need no thrust engine nor did he need
to reach 'escape velocity' He simply rose as he spoke to the
disciples. After he disappeared into the cloud he was seen no more
until Stephen saw him at the right hand of the Father.

Every
miracle performed by Him was amazing because it defied all known laws
of nature. Consider the turning of the water into wine. God devised a
system in nature by which water could fall to the earth, be absorbed
by the roots of the vine, find its way to the cluster and after
developing there be crushed and by a process of aging and
fermentation be changed into wine. Jesus proved His mastery over His
own creation by bypassing the vine and all the rest of the process.
He simply made the water become wine.

In
one way or another his every miracle defied the very rules of physics
that limit man. Because of his ability to do this we have faith that
our new bodies will not be the result of organ transplants or
marvelous robotics but will be entirely new creations, fashioned like
His own glorified body. They will not be affected by sickness, time
or limited by space but we will be like He is. 1
John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet
appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we
shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Bible
history is replete with accounts of occurrences in which God., in
order to accomplish His purpose set aside or circumvented the decrees
that He had put into place to govern His creation and to enable man
to progress as he attempts to further himself. Because man does not
want to credit God with these things he tries to find a way for some
natural explanation for them. He has tried to minimize the crossing
of the Red Sea and the Jordan River. He has come up with all manner
of explanations for the plagues in Egypt and the Manna in the
wilderness. All these efforts fall short for in each one there are
elements that can only be the power of God at work. The keeping
qualities of the manna is a case in point. Even if the source had
been a natural one [which it wasn't] there was a divine component in
its not lasting over night except on the night before the Sabbath,
when it stayed fresh for two days. Even the cycle of its appearance
followed a divine pattern. On six days it fell and on the seventh it
did not appear. It first appeared on cue as God promised , lasted
without fail for the forty years of need and stopped as they entered
the Promised Land.

It
is not necessary to multiply accounts of occurrences for the Word of
God is brimming with them. Yet we must recall the most powerful
exhibition of the power of God ever displayed. It transpired just
outside Jerusalem two thousand years ago and it has altered the
course of human history. It is the resurrection of Christ from the
dead. Others had been raised from the dead in both the Old and New
Testaments but at each such phenomenon a man of God or Christ
personally wielded the power of God upon the dead to call him forth.
Not so at the garden tomb of Jesus. There was no prophet, priest,
apostle or angel present to bring the crucified Christ back from
death where he had been for three days. He RAISED HIMSELF! John
10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I
have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This
commandment have I received of my Father.

This
is the greatest exhibition of the power of God ever manifested. Eh
1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may
know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the
glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Eh
1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his
power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty
power,

Eh
1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead,
and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

Eh
1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion,
and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in
that which is to come:

The
term, exceeding greatness, means to 'throw beyond the
line'. In athletic games, one who threw the hammer, discus or javelin
'beyond the line' was credited with breaking all previous records.
When Christ opened the dreaded vault of death from the inside and
came forth in His glorified form in spite of the power of Rome, the
Sanhedrin, the priesthood and the Roman guards he displayed more
power than was needed when He spoke the universe into existence! This
is the power that now protects and enables the Lord's Church. De
33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the
everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee;
and shall say, Destroy them.

No,
God is not bound by the laws of physics which govern His creation.
While we rejoice in the order those laws bring to all things, it is
those special works which bring us the assurance that He is God.
John 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night,
and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from
God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be
with him.

If
man's present conclusions as to the fate of the universe are correct,
God has a final feat in store that will go against man's conclusions
of things to come. For years the theory of relativity and the 'Big
Bang' agreed with the Bible prophecies of the ultimate end of the
earth as we know it. They all agreed that eventually the expanding
universe would collapse on itself. Now, however, because of
discoveries made through the Hubble Telescope the conclusions are
that it will not collapse but will continue expanding forever. I was
quite surprised as I read of these 'discoveries'. I was not
disappointed however for in searching the Scripture I find the Bible
still tells of the end just as it always has.

Mat
24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun
be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars
shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be
shaken:

Rev
20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no
place for them.

2
Pet 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;
in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works
that are therein shall be burned up.

2
Pet 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what
manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and
godliness,

2 Pet 3:12
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein
the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat?

I
will place my faith in the God of creation over the observations of
puny man as he gazes at that creation and makes his conjectures.

It
is only fitting that the universe which began by the power of God
would end by that same power.

QUESTION NUMBER TEN

10. Do the proven
facts of 'General or special Relativity' relate to God? To the
Bible?

The
operative word in this question is 'proven'. There have long
been accepted theories which were in direct conflict with the
Bible. During the lifetime of Moses there were strange things being
taught. At one time or another it was theorized that the earth rested
on the back of a huge turtle, that life generated in the slime of the
River Nile, the earth was stationary and flat and that the sun and
stars circled it. Moses was taught in all these things as an Egyptian
prince but was not taken in by any of it. Acts 7:22 And Moses was
learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words
and in deeds. Yet when Moses wrote of the earth and the beginning
of all things he was not affected by the current thinking but wrote
the truth as God inspired him.

When
'science' finally caught up with the Bible, they learned that the
world did rest upon nothing. Job 26:7 He
stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth
upon nothing. They learned that the earth did indeed turn upon
its axis and circle the sun. Job 38:12 Hast thou commanded the
morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;

Job
38:13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the
wicked might be shaken out of it?

Job
38:14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and
they stand as a garment. It is not flat as was once supposed but
round. Isa 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the
earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that
stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a
tent to dwell in:

When
'science' finally found proof of these things many tried to put a
spin upon their discoveries by saying, "Bible believers have
held us back but we have discovered the truth" The facts of the
case were that TRUE Bible believers knew these things all along and
Moses, Job, Isaiah and others had written of them.

For
centuries man has struggled with the puzzle of the make up of matter.
It was thought and taught for centuries, by the greatest thinkers,
that all things consisted of the elements of earth, fire and water.
Though plagued with inconsistencies, these ideas were passed on from
generation to generation. Then man began to espouse the idea of the
atomic make-up of matter. It was long considered that the molecule
was the smallest element and all things consisted of these. Then it
was found that molecules were made up of atoms. Even into the
twentieth century there were many who thought the atom to be
indivisible. Then man split the atom and released the enormous energy
within. It now seems that man is daily discovering new things about
the make-up of the atom..Only one involved in these things could
possibly understand the quarks, protons, neutrons, hadrons, leptons,
and bosons etc. which are claimed to be identified as time unfolds.
In the final analysis, the Bible said it all centuries ago and has
never changed. Heb 1:3 Who being the
brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and
upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by
himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on
high;

Heb
11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the
word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things
which do appear.

In
whatever form scientists find it, the ultimate make-up of matter is
POWER or energy just as God proclaimed He had created and sustains
it.

These
same principles of the Bible being ahead of science is clear in other
fields also. Consider the practice of days gone by of doctors
bleeding their patients to rid them of the sickness in their
polluted blood. It is said that George Washington, our first
president was bled to death because of this belief. God said long ago
that blood was life. Lev 17:11 For
the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you
upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the
blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Thousands had to die
before man discovered the truth of God's ancient declaration.

The
Bible agrees with N.A.S.A. that man will travel into space. Oba
1:4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy
nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.
Could this be the space station or is it referring to more to come?

During
the seventeenth century, it is said that the French Academy of
Science listed one hundred cases of their science proving the Bible
in error. Before the century expired, their science had discarded its
conception of every one while the Bible continued to say what it had
always declared.

When
a fact is proven to be true, the Bible always backs it up. When a
theory is false, the Bible will state the truth of the matter whether
men believe it or not. Rom 3:3 For what if
some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God
without effect?

Rom 3:4 God
forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written,
That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome
when thou art judged.

QUESTION NUMBER ELEVEN

11.
Is it 'oxymoronic' for the Eternal God to speak of the 'Fullness of
Time'? Why not?

An
oxymoron is defined as a figure of speech in which contradictory
terms are brought together for emphasis.

Without doubt God
is eternal. With Him all things ARE. There can be no question as to
His omnipresence in time as well as in space. Yet, for the benefit of
man, who is for now, confined to time, He speaks and acts in this
medium.

In
God's eternal view Christ was the sacrificial lamb for mankind from
the beginning. Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall
worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. It was essential
however, that the act should take place in time. It must be at a
place in the history of the human race which would be most
advantageous by affecting the largest number of people.

Had
it occurred while the race was still young, it no doubt would have
been soon lost in the fog of man's faulty memory or have become a
mere part of the mythology of the gods. For optimum effect the world
had to be prepared to participate in the sacrifice of the Son of God.
Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was
come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

The
Nation of Israel had been made ready. The prophets had foretold of
the coming and the death of the Messiah. Isa
7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a
virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel.

Psa
22:16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have
enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

Psa
22:17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

Psa 22:18 They
part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

The
the Law of Moses had pictured Him in types. Col
2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in
respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

Col 2:17 Which
are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

The
political scene of the world had been prepared. Had Christ been sent
at a time when Israel was soveriegn in her own land, his death would
have been by stoning. Prophecy was that he hang on a tree. Gal
3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a
curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on
a tree:

The
Babylonian Empire had taken Judah and Israel into a captivity that
had resulted in Jews being scattered through out the middle east and
Africa. The Persian Empire had resulted in a partial restoration of
Israel and kept her from going into oblivion. The Grecian Empire had
spread a language and western culture That had prepared Israel and
the world for the direction of the thrust of the gospel that was to
come later. This was made evident when Paul was forbidden to go into
Bythinia which would have sent the drive of the spread of the Gospel
to the East and instead was sent to Macedonia which resulted in it
being spread to Rome, Europe and the entire western world.

The
Roman Empire, though cruel and oppressive in many ways was the first
of the world powers that had allowed at least limited freedom of
worship unlike the previous domains. The Jews were free to worship at
their temple and to receive their Messiah. They were free to travel
and engage in commerce throughout the Roman Empire and those who had
been scattered were free to return to Jerusalem to worship. The
events surrounding the activities of the Lord's church on the day of
Pentecost and shortly afterward as well as the early mission efforts
illustrate the importance of these things.

Truly,
though the world was unaware of the events which prepared it for the
focal point of both time and eternity, this was the 'fullness of
time' There was no time in the past which would have been so
effective and with the breakup of the Roman Empire there has been
none since.

Though
God is eternal and sees all things in the present, He created time
along with the 'all things' John 1:3 All
things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made
that was made. For the benefit of His Finite creation He has
chosen to operate in Time. It was for the greatest benefit possible
to us that God chose the 'fullness of time' as the period and
Jerusalem as the place in the 'Time Space Continuum' to send forth
His Son.