Eternity: Encyclopedia II - Eternity - God and eternity

Eternity - God and eternity

Theists say that God is eternally existent. How this is understood depends on which definition of eternity is used. On the one hand, God may exist in eternity, a timeless existence where categories of past, present, and future just do not apply. On the other hand, God may exist for or through eternity, or at all times, having already existed for an infinite amount of time and being expected to continue to exist for an infinite amount of time.

Whichever definition of eternity is understood, it is common to observe that finite human beings cannot fully understand eternity, since it is either an infinite amount of the time we know or something other than the time and space we know. But for the infinite definition, there are parallels that give some notion of an infinity--of at least a potential infinity, or a series that begins and has not ended. A series of moments that has begun and not ended is potentially eternal by that definition.

Related to the notion of eternal existence is the concept of God as Creator, as a being completely independent of "everything else" that exists because he created everything else. (Contrast this with panentheism.) If this premise is true, then it follows that God is independent of both space and time, since these are properties of the universe. So according to this notion, God exists before time began, exists during all moments in time, and would continue to exist if somehow the universe and time itself were to cease to exist.

Related to mankind, the biblical revelation first indicated that Man as a special created being is able to grasp the abstract form in contrast with the lower animal world which did not have the ability to understand the concept of "eternity". See book of Ecclesiastes 3:11 "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men ..". from Bible translation in the N.I.V.

See also the nature of God in monotheistic religions.

Afterlife is often believed to be eternal.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "God and eternity", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki