Attributes of God

We all are forced by the stern reality of death to consider eternity seriously. When a loved one dies or a young person is taken away quickly by a tragic accident, we often ponder the end of life as we know it. Sometimes, we wonder why God spares us and takes others. Nurses and doctors, emergency workers, morticians, and soldiers in times of war often deal with death on a regular basis. If death teaches us anything, it should teach us to “number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

The Book of Revelation has variously intrigued, baffled, alarmed, and comforted millions of Christians over the centuries since it was written by John the Apostle on the Isle of Patmos. It has been interpreted in many different ways from many different perspectives. For some, the prophecy is disturbing, containing terrifying visions of armed horsemen, winged scorpions, a dragon, and beasts. For others, the words are comforting, for they assure us of Christ’s final victory, His presence with His people, and the day when God Himself will wipe the tears from every eye.

“In the beginning was the Word . . . .” This simple but profound statement is the opening of the Gospel of John. Looking at the other three Gospels, Mark began his record with the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. Matthew and Luke began their Gospels with the wonder of the Incarnation and the miracle of the virgin birth of the Lord. But John’s Gospel commences with a statement of the eternality of the Lord Jesus Christ, reminding us that the life of Jesus existed eternally before He took on human flesh and dwelt among us.

Have you ever been discouraged by the fleeting stability of earthly governments and kingdoms? Kings come and go. Empires rise and fall. Nations rise from obscurity to power, enjoy prosperity for a time, but then sink into the mists of history. Of the vaunted glory of ancient civilizations, such as the Aztec and Inca in the Americas or the Egyptian and Sumerian in the Fertile Crescent, only a few scattered remnants remain of their existence.

In one sense, man is eternal. From the moment of conception, we are endowed with an eternal destiny. We will live forever in Heaven or in hell. But man’s eternal life exists only in one direction. God’s eternal life spans from everlasting to everlasting. A mathematician could accurately describe man’s eternality as a geometric ray—beginning at a point and continuing forever in one direction. But God’s eternality is a line—having no beginning or end but continues forever in both directions.