Time Within Eternity: Interpreting Revelation 8:1

By R. Larry Overstreet

[R. Larry Overstreet served as Professor of New Testament at Corban University School of Ministry in Tacoma, Washington. He now resides at Winona Lake, Indiana, and can be contacted at rlandl104@gmail.com.

Note: A version of this article was presented at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on November 14, 2012.]

Introduction

What is God’s relationship to time? How does God’s eternality relate to time? Is God Himself temporal or atemporal? Did God create time and, if so, to what extent is He bound to it after its creation? When we are in heaven with God, will time still be measured? These are the types of questions that can come into focus when interpreting Rev 8:1, “When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (NASB). This article proposes to consider the major elements which are inherent within this text as they relate to the relationship between time and eternity. God’s relationship to eternity as well as the relationship of people to eternity will also be investigated.

Common Interpretations Of Revelation 8:1

Most commentaries on Rev 8:1 focus on the meaning of the half hour of silence in heaven. What is its significance? Nine major views are enunciated. Since interpreters consider this issue to be a major problem of the verse, the nine views will be briefly presented and evaluated. The primary purpose of this article, however, is not to focus on why there is a silence in heaven, but how there can be a half hour of silence in the eternal state.

Interpretation 1: Silence Is So God Can Hear People’s Prayers

This view argues that the silence is explained by verses 3–4, “Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand.” Charles, for example, writes: “The praises of the highest orders of angels in heaven are hushed that the prayers of all [italics his] the suffering saints on earth may be heard before the throne.

Their needs are of more concern to God than all the psalmody of heaven.”[1] Caird agrees with this position: “Just as the seals could not be broken until the Lamb had won the right to break them by his obedience on earth, so the trumpets cannot sound until the prayers of men have reached the altar of heaven [bold his],”[2] and Bauckham defends it at great length.[3] Michaels, however, observes a particular weakness in this view: “The prayers of all the saints [italics his] are not mentioned until the half hour is over (v. 3), and when they are mentioned they are not ‘heard’ but offered up as incense.”[4] One must also doubt that an omniscient God is hindered by noise from listening to prayer.

Interpretation 2: Silence Is A Prelude To Prayer

A view similar to the first is that the silence comes from both Greco-Roman and Jewish culture to provide a liturgical prelude to prayer. Osborne, for example, advocates that this is one possible explanation for the silence, that it is “the liturgical silence of heaven in light of the incense and prayers of the saints in 5:8; 6:9–11; and 7:3–4.”[5] Clarke holds to a similar thought: “The silence here refers to this fact—while the priest went in to burn incense in the holy place, all the people continued in silent mental prayer without until the priest returned. See Luke 1:10. The angel mentioned here appears to execute the office of priest…”[6] Aune considers that this view is the most convincing because of its parallels with Jewish worship and with the Greek traditions of silence as a ritual prelude to prayer. Aune concludes that this “view is the most convincing, for silence was very probably maintained during the incense offering in the Jerusalem temple cult (see m. Tamid 5:1–6; T. Adam 1.12) just as it is here during the heavenly incense offering narrated in vv. 3–5.”[7] The same problem exists with this view as the first, which is that the silence occurs prior to, not contemporaneous with, the incense offering.

Interpretation 3: Silence Is A Temporary Cessation Of Revelation

Another suggested interpretation is that the silence comes about because God ceases to give revelation during this time. Swete advocates this view: “This silence does not spell a cessation of the Divine workings… but a temporary suspension of revelation… Nor is it more to the point to refer to such passages as Hab. ii. 20, Zeph. i. 7, Zech. ii. 13; the Apocalyptic silence is in heaven and not on earth.”[8] Thomas, however, observes “it is more accurate not to call it a cessation of revelation, because the period of silence is part of the revelatory process.”[9]

Interpretation 4: Silence Repeats The Primeval Silence That Greeted The First Creation At This Final Re-Creation Of The World

Some scholars find a parallel of the silence of Rev 8:1 with the supposed silence that existed when God first created the world. Keener writes: “The silence may be a signal of return to the primeval creation characterized by such silence and followed by the resurrection (see 4 Ezra 7:30; 2 Bar. 3:7).”[10] Rissi defends this view arguing that we “find in Judaism a clear conception of the eschatological silence.”[11] He contends that the silence “belongs to the creation myth in 2 Esdras 6:39” and is further explained by 2 Esd 7:29–31, 2 Bar. 3:7 and Ps.-Philo 60:2, and that according “to the apocalyptic rule that the primeval time would be a prototype of the End Time, it is expected from a part of the Jewish apocalyptic that the world will again sink back into primeval silence and a new world will arise out of the chaos.”[12] A weakness in this view is that it appeals to Jewish apocalyptic literature and a “creation myth,” but offers no biblical support, either from the immediate context or from the Scriptures as a whole.

Interpretation 5: Silence Indicates That The Seal Visions Are Now Complete

A fifth suggestion as to why there is silence is that it indicates that the seal visions are completed. Krodel asserts that “the silence following the opening of the seventh seal also indicates that the seal visions are now complete. In 4 Ezra 7:30 a cosmic silence of seven days signals the return of the world to its primeval state [the fourth view above]. John may have used this motif and, as usual, changed it. The interval of seven days of silence enveloping the whole world becomes a brief half-hour period and it is enjoined in heaven [bold his] only. At any rate, the silence in heaven rounds off the seal visions.”[13] It is obvious that the silence occurs as the seal visions are complete. If that is all which is intended, however, it seems odd that neither the trumpet nor bowl judgments end in a comparable silence.

Interpretation 6: Silence Is That Of The Condemned (From The Sixth Seal), As They Await Divine Judgment

Beale has an extensive discussion of this text arguing that the Old Testament background “associates silence with divine judgment” in passages such as Ps 31:7; 115:17; Hab 2:20; he further argues concerning Hab 3:3–6 and Zech 2:13–3:2 that the “response or anticipated response to the judgment of these two texts is that ‘all the earth’ and ‘all flesh’ stand in silent awe (cf. likewise Isa. 23:2; 41:1–5).”[14] He then observes this “means that it cannot be taken as ‘emptiness’ but represents judgment… The main point is the horror of divine judgment, which has such an awesome effect that no human is able to verbalize a response. However brief the description, this idea of judgment composes the seventh seal.”[15] However, in view of the plethora of direct texts in Revelation which detail judgment it seems odd that such an idea is presented here by virtue of a silence. This is especially to be noted when Rev 6:15–17 testify that at the judgment of the sixth seal the people of the earth are anything except silent. Further, the silence encompasses more than humans; it extends to all the hosts of heaven itself.

Interpretation 7: Silence Introduces The Eternal (Or Millennial) Sabbath Rest

Alford affirms that this silence signals “the beginning of that blessed sabbatical state of rest, during which the people of God shall be in full possession of those things which ear hath not heard nor eye seen.”[16] Jamieson, Fausset and Brown agree: “It is the solemn introduction to employments and enjoyments of the eternal Sabbath-rest of the people of God, commencing with the Lamb’s reading the book heretofore sealed up, and which we cannot know till then.”[17] A weakness with this view is that nowhere in Scripture is silence connected with heavenly or Millennial rest. A more significant weakness is that the first six seals are “displays of the wrath of God against earth’s rebels, but this view wants to make the seventh a picture of blessing. This is not what the seals portray.”[18]

Interpretation 8: Silence Is Only A Metaphor, Not Literal

Scott declares that the silence is not really silence at all, that it is not to be taken literally. John’s reference to silence

does not mean that the songs and hallelujahs of the redeemed are silent. The silence must be interpreted in connection with the immediate subject on hand, which is judgment. But, inasmuch as the source of these judgments on earth is the throne set in Heaven, the silence is there. The course of judgment is arrested. There is a pause both as to the announcement and execution of further chastisements.[19]

While John clearly uses metaphorical language in Revelation this text seems too direct not to take the silence as literal silence.

Interpretation 9: Silence Is A Dramatic Pause Signifying Awe And Dread As The Heavenly Hosts Await The Coming Events

Beckwith avers that the “long silence is interpreted by most com., probably with right, to signify the awe and dread with which the heavenly hosts await the events now coming upon the earth; they stand mute before the revelations of the opened book of destiny; cf. Dan. 4:19 (RV).”[20] Michaels asks if the silence is better understood as an indication of the End, or “is the silence a dramatic preparation for the resumption of sound and action? Are we waiting for something more? The fact that the silence is broken by a great deal of noise, peals of thunder, rumblings. . . , an earthquake (v. 5) [italics his] and the blasts of seven trumpets, argues for the second of these alternatives.”[21] Of this dramatic pause, Kiddle writes, “Hushed are the praises of the angelic hosts for this ominous period, the silent herald that all is over. It is a brilliant device for deepening the suspense.”[22] This view appears to be most consistent with the immediate context and argument of Revelation.[23]

Time In Revelation 8:1

Assuming that the silence is a dramatic pause signifying awe and dread as the heavenly hosts await the coming events provides a perspective on why the silence occurs. It does not, however, clarify how there can be a thirty-minute span of silence when we are looking at a heavenly, eternal, scene. That issue must now be addressed.

Interpreting The “Half Hour”

The text says that when the Lamb opened the seventh seal, “there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” Two emphases in this verse must be considered. The first is that there was “silence” (sigē). This noun only occurs here and in Acts 21:40 where, as Paul prepared to give his defense before the Jews, “there was a great hush” in the angry mob before he spoke. It clearly has the idea of silence, “the absence of all noise, whether made by speaking or by anything else, silence, quiet [italics theirs].”[24] The noun comes from the verb sigaō which means: to “say nothing, keep still, keep silent” (cf. Luke 20:26; Acts 12:17; 15:12; 1 Cor. 14:28, 34); to “stop speaking, become silent” (cf. Luke 18:39; Acts 15:13; 1 Cor. 14:30); and “to keep someth. from becoming known, keep secret, conceal” (cf. Luke 9:36; Rom. 16:25).[25] This silence “creates a ‘hushed expectancy’ for the severity of the judgments to follow.”[26]

The second emphasis in this verse is on the phrase “about half an hour” (hōs hēmiōrion). The noun hēmiōrion occurs only here in the New Testament, and is rare in extra-biblical Greek. It is formed from hēmisys, “half,” and hōra, “hour.”[27] This term, and its related terms, “appear in Koine Greek from the NT era and later.”[28] Hēmiōrion is interpreted variously in this text.

Boxall, for one, takes the term non-literally, as silence which “remains only for about half an hour, a limited period (for example, Dan. 7:25; 9:27), half of the ‘hour’ of divine judgment and salvation (cf. 9:15; 14:7, 15; 18:10).”[29] Rissi agrees with Boxall that John “used hmiōros to indicate the first, dark half of God’s great eschatological hour, which the other half, the bright new creation, will then follow. Only then is the whole hour of God brought to fulfillment.”[30]

Scott does not take the half-hour as referring to the judgment, but still considers it non-literally as denoting “an exceedingly brief period during which judicial action is suspended… How long the awful suspense lasts we are not informed.”[31]

Others, however, take the half hour as actually referring to a span of about thirty minutes. Walvoord, for example, writes: “Though thirty minutes is not ordinarily considered a long time, when it is a time of absolute silence portending such ominous developments ahead it is an indication that something tremendous is about to take place.”[32] Another who takes it literally, showing how significant even a short time span can be, is Seiss: “A half-hour is not long in itself; but time is longer or shorter according to what is transpiring, or what the circumstances are. Moments of agonizing suspense stretch out into hours and days, in comparison with moments of ordinary life. Two minutes of delay, when a man is drowning, is an awful period to have to wait.”[33] Seiss also astutely observes, “The whole thing is distinctly located ‘in heaven,’ and its duration is specifically limited to ‘about half an hour.’”[34] Neither Walvoord nor Seiss, however, deal with the issue of how there can be a literal half hour in the eternal heaven.

Some interpreters who generally hold a literal interpretation of Scripture consider that this half hour is not literal since the text speaks of the eternal heavenly scene. It is, rather, a linguistic accommodation to human limitations. Thomas, for example, asserts: “The limit of the silence to about a half-hour duration is an interesting accommodation of heavenly actions to a human limitation. One must think of heaven under the immediate rule of the eternal God as not subject to time limitations, but for the sake of the prophet a specifically short restriction applies to the period of silence.”[35] Smalley also wrestles with this problem of a time indicator being used related to an eternal scene: “Strictly speaking, eternity cannot be temporally measured; but, in an apocalyptic vision such as this, logic has no firm place. The whole description, half an hour’s silence, symbolizes an interlude of some length, in preparation for the worship of God.”[36] This issue of the relationship of time to eternity is critical to understanding Rev 8:1 correctly. To their credit, Thomas and Smalley recognize this issue and answer it by asserting that time and eternity cannot exist together; therefore, time must be viewed as symbolic. The majority of commentators consulted on this text never mention this issue, let alone seek to answer it.

Time And Eternity

The relationship between time and eternity involves several elements. These must now be considered.

What Is Time? A basic question is: What is time? This has been discussed, argued and debated by philosophers for centuries.

In Platonic and Hellenistic thought eternity was often conceived of as timelessness. According to this tradition man’s final goal is to seek to escape from time into timelessness, i.e., into eternity (cf. Plato Phaedo 79, 106 e-108 a; Symposium 208 a; Republic 611 a-b; Timaeus 27 d-28 a [contrast 37 d]). Because this present life in time was conceived of as consisting of unbroken cycles of experience which afford no means of escape from the limitations of mortality and a life oppressed (cf. the Orphic tradition), redemption could be found only in a transcendent experience of eternity, which would be qualitatively superior to the experience of being in time.[37]

In Hellenistic thought, therefore, time is “unbroken cycles of experience.” In contrast to the cyclical view of time (still advocated by some philosophers), the Bible sets forth a linear view of time. Horrell observes: “Unlike the cyclical concept of time in classical pantheism and some forms of animism, the biblical perspective of time is linear: the history of the world has beginning, direction, culmination, and (in some sense) end… Seen from a biblical viewpoint, time and creation have beginning but no definitive end.”[38]

Aristotle likewise pondered the question of time. In his Physics, he wrote that “we apprehend time only when we have marked motion, marking it by ‘before’ and ‘after’; and it is only when we have perceived ‘before’ and ‘after’ in motion that we say that time has elapsed.”[39]

Throughout history philosophers have wondered what time is, and the discussions continue today. Some speculate that time may be real, but the way we perceive it is an illusion, that “what we perceive as time is mostly an illusion. Our memory creates the illusion of the past. Conscious perception of events gives the feeling of present. Future is a mental construct patterned on the memory experience of the past. Concept of time emerges as our mind tries to make sense of the world around us which is filled with change.”[40] Although some have questioned whether time even exists, “most philosophers agree that time does exist. They just cannot agree on what it is.”[41]

The discussion concerning time also involves Christian theologians. “One of the red-hot issues in contemporary Christian theology is the problem of a renewed understanding of God’s eternity and its relation to time.”[42] Philosophers and scientists debate, for example, whether time is “tenseless (static)” or “tensed (dynamic).” According to the “tenseless” view the past and the future are always just as real as the present. Any distinction between them is only an illusion of our own consciousness. Albert Einstein, for example, wrote concerning death that it “signifies nothing. For us believing physicists the distinction between past, present, and future is only an illusion, even if a stubborn one.”[43] In contrast, the “tensed” view looks at time as a progression of continuing events.

In addition, there is the further problem of time’s relationship to eternity. While a full discussion of the relationship of “time” to “eternity” is beyond the scope of this article,[44] a summary of the major views is essential to understanding Rev 8:1. Before that summary, however, a consideration of key biblical terms must be presented in order to lay a foundation for the relationship of time to eternity, and how Rev 8:1 correlates with their connection.[45]

Old Testament Words for Time/Eternity. Several Hebrew words occur with various time emphases, and these have been studied for over a century.[46] These include such common words as “day” (yôm), “week” (šābûa῾), “month” (ḥōdeš), and “year” (šānâ). In addition, the term mô῾ēd refers to an “appointed time,” “without regard to the purpose of the designation. It may be the time for the birth of a child (Gen. 17:21. . .), the coming of a plague (Ex. 9:5),” etc.[47]

Another common word with a time element is ῾ēt, which “relates to time conceived as an opportunity or season.”[48] It appears 295 times, and is used, for example, of regular events such as harvest (Jer 50:16), of the appropriate time for an un-recurring event, such as the appointed time to die (Eccl 7:17), and for the fixed time for a family to visit the temple gatekeepers (1 Chron 9:24–25).

Two Old Testament words, however, are particularly relevant to this study. The first of these is the noun ῾ad which appears 53 times in the Old Testament, usually translated as “forever.” Nordell argued over 100 years ago that the term had various nuances, but that the basic idea is that of “duration, perpetuity.”[49] Only twice is the word used referring to that which is past: first, a reference that from “of old” when man was placed on the earth the wicked only triumph momentarily (Job 20:4); second, that God shatters the “perpetual” mountains (Hab 3:6). “Otherwise, it always denotes the unforeseeable future,”[50] and is often applied to God (Ps 45:17; 111:3), His Word (Ps 19:9), to Israel (Ps 89:29) and Zion (Ps 48:14).

The second key Old Testament word is ῾ôlām, which occurs 438 times in the Scriptures. Nordell asserted that when it is used in reference to time, it “suggests a duration whose limits are hidden from human sight, hence immeasurableness, illimitableness,”[51] and God is understood to be absolutely limitless. The term refers to “indefinite continuance into the very distant future” in more than 300 of its appearances.[52] The word can also be used in a limited sense, however. It refers to a man who will be a servant “permanently,” that is, for his lifetime (Exod 21:6), and to Samuel who was dedicated by Hannah to serve the Lord “forever,” that is, for his lifetime (1 Sam 1:22). It can also refer to the remote past, but not to the limitless past. Indeed, Watts asserts that the term “refers to a long period of time, probably best translated as an ‘age.’ It defines not only the time involved but also the total complex of circumstances that could be called ‘the world of that time.’”[53] That idea of “age” is why the word is commonly translated in the LXX by aiōn. Ludwig suggests that the “idea of eternity as unending time is perhaps first clearly established in Isaiah, especially chapters forty through forty-eight.”[54] Concerning its use in Isaiah, Watts summarizes that the word “can look back to a past era, as when it describes a period that extends back to Moses (chaps. 63–64), or back to Abraham in chaps. 29, 41, 51, and 63, or even as far back as Noah (54:9). Or it can describe the present to future in terms of the full thrust of chaps. 40–66, especially chaps. 60–61.”[55] Without doubt the word frequently refers to that which is of continuous existence, of an indefinite or unending future, not limited to the present, but it does so from the perspective of unending time, not timelessness.

New Testament Words for Time/Eternity. Several New Testament words also relate to the subjects of time and eternity. The first is chronos, which occurs 54 times, and “mostly means ‘span of time.’”[56] The noun emphasizes measured segments of time, such as that of Jesus’ ministry (Acts 1:211:21), or quantity of time, such as when Herod determined the “time” the star appeared to the magi (Matt 2:7). In the fullness of time Christ came into this world (Gal 4:4).

Another word for time in the New Testament is kairos, occurring 85 times. This word can stress the character or opportunity of the season (Eph 5:16), or can denote a point in time (Matt 11:25). It may also stress quality of time, such as when Paul states that this is the acceptable time, that of salvation (2 Cor 6:2). “Accordingly, with the time of Jesus Christ, the old age has passed away, and a new epoch, the fulfillment of the times has begun”[57] (cf. Matt 8:29; 26:18; 1 Tim 6:15).

The New Testament words which focus on limitlessness are the noun aiōn (120 times), the adjective aiōnios (73 times), and the adjective aidios (2 times). Discussions concerning the depth of meaning of these words is extensive. Some specific items, however, are critical to observe. First, the New Testament clearly indicates temporal ideas in these words. An “age” can have a beginning point (1 Cor 2:7, “before the ages,” pro tōn aiōnōn) and an ending point (Matt 13:39, “the end of the age,” synteleia aiōnōs). Vine asserts that aiōn “signifies a period of indefinite duration, or time viewed in relation to what takes place in the period.”[58] Bauer, Arndt and Gingrich summarize the word aiōn in four categories: (1) “a long period of time, without ref. to beginning or end;” (2) “a segment of time as a particular unit of history, age;” (3) “the world as a spatial concept,” and (4) “the Aeon as a person.”[59] The word “age” is used of the world by metonymy for that which is contained in time. Sasse likewise avows that from “the days of Heraclitus . . . and Empedocles the philosophers made use of the term in discussions of the problem of time.”[60] He advocates that the term is used “in the Sense of Prolonged Time or Eternity,”[61] “in the Sense of the Time of the World,”[62] as well as in “The Personification of Aiōn.”[63] The conclusion reached is that by “the usage of the word aiōn, aeōn, and the connected eschatology, one can establish that, with all the varied accentuations, the NT speaks of eternity in the categories of time.”[64]

Thus, it is clear that several Old Testament words refer to time, as do several New Testament words. The relevant point to the interpretation of Rev 8:1 is that even the biblical words for “eternal” have within them the inherent concept of time. Attention turns now to the discussions concerning how “time” relates to “eternity.” This is important since a time frame (a half-hour) is identified as existing in the heavenly realm in Rev 8:1.

Relating Time to Eternity. Four basic positions are held by Christian theologians and philosophers concerning how time relates to eternity.[65] These are: (a) Divine timeless eternity—God is outside of time; (b) unqualified Divine temporality—God is temporal and everlasting; (c) eternity as relative timelessness—God is relatively timeless; and (d) timelessness and omnitemporality— God was timeless before creation and always temporal after it.

Divine Timeless Eternity. Helm forcefully advocates the view of an absolute timeless eternity of God.[66] This position advocates that God exists “outside time,” rather than “in time.” Although this view “is the ‘mainstream’ view represented by Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Calvin and a host of others—there is reason to think that it is very much the minority view among contemporary theologians and philosophers of religion.”[67] Helm admits that the idea of absolute timeless divine eternality is difficult to show from Scripture. He finds some inferences for it (cf. Ps 90:12; Isa 57:15; 1 Cor 2:7; 2 Tim 1:9; Heb 1:10–12), and suggests that the reason for the lack of clear support is “that the issues of temporalism and eternalism as we have sketched them were not before the minds of the writers as they wrote.”[68] A weakness in this view concerns how an absolutely timeless God can interact with the temporal world after He created it. “The difficult question for him is: does God necessarily need to change in His mode of existence from timeless to temporal because of His creation of the temporal world?”[69]

Unqualified Divine Temporality. Wolterstorff takes a position the virtual opposite of Helm. He asserts that God is not eternal in the timeless sense. Rather, God is temporal and everlasting. He affirms that in Scripture God “has a history, and in this history there are changes in God’s actions, responses and knowledge. The God of Scripture is One of whom a narrative can be told; we know that not because Scripture tells us that but because it offers such a narrative.”[70] He argues, for instance, that Ps 90:1–4 does not state “that God is timeless but that God existed before creation, indeed from everlasting to everlasting. How could God exist before creation and yet be timeless?”[71] He argues similarly concerning 2 Pet 3:8 and John 8:58. His conclusion is that anything which has a history is in time. God has a history, and therefore God exists in time. To this he adds that God “does not have the defect of contingent and transitory time as we have because God is the everlasting God and the Lord of time.”[72] A weakness in this view is that Scripture texts do indeed point to the beginning of time itself, and that God existed prior to that beginning. Interestingly, contemporary science also advocates that time came into existence with the physical universe.[73]

Eternity as Relative Timelessness. Padgett rejects both of the preceding views and presents an alternative, that God is the Lord of time. He asserts:

God is not contained within time, not even God’s own time. Rather, God’s being is conceptually prior [italics his] (in terms of ontological dependence) to eternity, even though God’s life is not temporally prior to God’s time. God’s eternity is thus similar to other divine attributes that are always part of God’s existence but are not logically essential to the divine Being. Thus, God remains the Lord of time and the Creator of our (measured) time.[74]

Padgett then explains in more detail what he means by “God’s own time”:

God is relatively timeless—that is, timeless relative to our created, measured time. This means, first, that God is the Creator of our time (space-time universe). Our time takes place within (and only because of the prior existence of ) God’s own time. Second, even God’s own time, eternity, exists only because God exists (and not the other way around). Even eternity is dependent, ontologically, on God’s very Life and Being. The Being of God is thus rightly at the heart of the whole of reality in history or eternity, in heaven and on earth. Third, God’s own time is infinite and cannot be measured by our time. Eternity is infinite and immeasurable.[75]

Although Padgett argues at length and in detail from a philosophical and a broadly theological perspective, a weakness is that he does not show how his view actually harmonizes with Scripture. Another difficulty is found in his comment that “God’s own time is infinite and cannot be measured by our time.” This encounters a significant obstacle in Rev 8:1.

Timelessness and Omnitemporality. The fourth major view concerning the relationship of God and time is that presented by Craig, who has written widely on this topic.[76] Craig concisely summarizes his view as follows:

It seems to me, therefore, that it is not only coherent but also plausible that God existing changelessly alone without creation is timeless and that he enters time at the moment of creation in virtue of his real relation to the temporal universe. The image of God existing idly before creation is just that: a figment of the imagination. Given that time began to exist, the most plausible view of God’s relationship to time is that he is timeless without creation and temporal subsequent to creation.[77]

Craig argues that “it is indisputable that the biblical writers typically portray God as engaged in temporal activities, including foreknowing the future and remembering the past;” he then refers to Ps 90:2 and Rev 4:8 to show that when the writers “speak directly of God’s eternal existence they do so in terms of beginningless and endless temporal duration.”[78] However, in addition to God’s temporal actions, he further argues that Genesis 1:1 sets forth “not simply the beginning of the physical universe but the beginning of time itself and that consequently God may be thought of as timeless.”[79] Other Scripture texts which he brings to the issue to show that the creation of the world coincided with the beginning of time include Prov 8:22–23, where wisdom speaks with reference to a temporal beginning; Jude 25, which includes both a beginning to past time and also an everlasting future; as well as Titus 1:2–3; 2 Tim 1:9; 1 Cor 2:7; Ps 55:19; John 17:24; Eph 1:4; 1 Pet 1:20; Rev 13:8. His conclusion is that “since God did not begin to exist at the moment of creation, it therefore follows that he existed ‘before’ the beginning of time. God, at least ‘before’ creation, must therefore be atemporal.”[80] Craig thus holds that God is timeless before the creation of the temporal world. After creation, God has real interactions with His world, and is temporal. This view seems to be most in accord with Scripture, correlates well with the literal understanding of Rev 8:1,[81] and is the view which seems most reasonable and biblical.

Time, Eternity, And Revelation 8:1

Craig used several texts to show that God existed before time, and was the creator of time. Other specific texts also testify to God as the one who created the “ages” which, as demonstrated above, have a time element inherent within them. Beyond that, Scripture clearly indicates that an age can come to an end. Again, Scripture testifies that there are many “ages” yet to come in the plan of God. These concepts will be examined, and Rev 8:1 will be shown to be consistent with the rest of Scripture’s emphasis. Thinking of an “age” as “everlasting,” rather than “eternal,” may help differentiate God’s attribute of eternality, which He has before time, from that which occurs after creation, which is unending time.

God Was Before The Ages And World (And Time)

God existed “before the ages” (pro tōn aiōnōn). Paul wrote that “we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages (pro tōn aiōnōn) to our glory” (1 Cor 2:7). Paul assured believers that God saved and called them “according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began (pro chronōn aiōnōn)” (2 Tim 1:9 HCSB). Paul also wrote about “the hope of eternal (aiōniou) life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago (pro chronōn aiōnōn, or “before times of ages”), but at the proper time (kairois idiois) manifested” (Titus 1:2–3).

Scripture also affirms that God existed before the creation of the world (kosmos). In His high priestly prayer, Jesus said to the Father that “You loved Me before the foundation of the world (pro katabolēs kosmou)” (John 17:24). This indicates that an ongoing and loving relationship existed within the Trinity prior to the creation of time, which also included a shared glory (John 17:5). Paul used the same phrase when he declared that the Father “chose us in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world (pro katabolēs kosmou)” (Eph 1:4). Peter also used the same phrase to assert that Christ in His sacrifice for sins “was foreknown before the foundation of the world (pro katabolēs kosmou)” (1 Pet 1:20). In a similar way, John wrote that those on earth worship the beast, including “everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world (apo katabolēs kosmou) in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain” (Rev 13:8). God existed and was active, therefore, in the timeless “past,” before time, the ages, or the cosmos were created.

God Created The Ages

God not only existed before the creation of the ages, and time, but He is the One who created the ages. This indicates an initial point of time for them. The author of Hebrews declared that God “in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world (epoiēsen tous aiōnas, or “He made the ages”)” (Heb 1:2). The Father made the ages through the instrumentality of the Son. The writer later expanded his thought: “By faith we understand that the worlds (aiōnas, “ages”) were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible” (Heb 11:3). English translations commonly use the terms “worlds” or “universe” to translate aiōnas (“ages”) since it can refer by metonymy to those things which are contained in the ages, that is the created worlds, the universe. Concerning this use, Kent observes: “Ages (aiōnas) are the vast eons of time and all that fills them.”[82] These ages were “prepared” by God, using the term katartizō. In this text the term means “to create, with the implication of putting into proper condition.”[83]

Other Scripture texts which indicate a beginning to an age, or to ages, include: (a) “As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old (ap’ aiōnos, “from the age”) (Luke 1:70); (b) “Since the beginning of time (aiōnos, “age”) it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind” (John 9:32); (c) “whom (Christ) heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time (ap’ aiōnos, “from the age”)” (Acts 3:21); (d) “so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from long ago (ap’ aiōnos, “from the age”)” (Acts 15:17–18); and (e) “and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages (apo tōn aiōnōn, “from the ages”) has been hidden in God who created all things” (Eph 3:9). Concerning this verse Hoehner argues that the word aiōn “refers to time,” meaning that “the mystery was hidden since the ages began or from the beginning of time.”[84]

Ages Come To An End

The Bible declares that ages have a beginning. In addition, numerous Scripture texts refer to an age, or ages, coming to an end. This indicates a terminal time point for them. Verses which indicate this include the following: (a) In His explanation of the parable of the tares, Jesus said that “the harvest is the end of the age (synteleia aiōnos); and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age (synteleia tou aiōnos)” (Matt 13:39–40). The noun synteleia refers to “a point of time marking completion of a duration.”[85] At the point of time when Jesus returns in glory, this current age comes to its completion, and closes. Jesus gave a similar thought a few verses later in the parable of the dragnet, “So it will be at the end of the age (en tē synteleia tou aiōnos); the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous” (Matt 13:49). (b) While the texts in Matthew 13 look at the end of this age as one of judgment, the book of Matthew concludes with positive words for believers as Jesus said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age (heōs tēs synteleias tou aiōnos)” (Matt 28:20). Turner observes that this “expression (13:39–40, 49; 24:3) clearly refers to the time of eschatological judgment at the conclusion of the present order…Through all these days, there will never be a single day when Jesus will not be with his disciples as they are busy about his business.”[86] (c) Writing about experiences of Israel, Paul observed, “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages (ta telē tōn aiōnōn) have come” (1 Cor 10:11). Fee comments that interpreters “almost all agree that Paul’s point is that he and the Corinthians belong to the period that marks the end of the ages.”[87] (d) Observing that if the sacrifice of Christ were like the multiple Old Testament sacrifices, the writer of Hebrews pronounced, “Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world (apo katabolēs kosmou); but now once at the consummation of the ages (synteleia tōn aiōnōn). He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb 9:26). Concerning the plural “ages,” Keener writes, “Jewish people frequently divided history up into many ages (they proposed a number of different schemes), but the most basic was the division between the present age and the age to come. The ‘consummation of the ages’ (NASB) thus refers to the goal of history, climaxing in the coming of God’s reign.”[88]

Ages Follow After Each Other

The statement that at Christ’s sacrifice there was a “consummation of the ages” indicates that ages follow after each other. Other Scripture texts verify this. (a) Concerning the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit Jesus stated, “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matt 12:32). Although much has been written concerning identifying the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, the point to observe here is that it was an unforgivable sin during the age in which Jesus spoke, and also in that age which was to follow it. Thus, an age follows an age. (b) Concerning the immense value of following Christ, Jesus said that His followers “will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age (nyn en tō kairō toutō, “now in this time”), houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come (en tō aiōni tō erchomenō), eternal (aiōnion) life” (Mark 10:30). In this verse (cf. Luke 18:30), Jesus draws the contrast between this present “time” and the “age” to come. (c) Drawing a contrast between this present existence and that which is to come, Jesus also said, “The sons of this age (tou aiōnos toutou) marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age (tou aiōnos ekeinou) and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage” (Luke 20:34–35). Luke drew a contrast between the present age and a coming age of “blessing in the afterlife.”[89] (d) In his grand doxology, Jude observed the distinction between the past age-time, the present time, and the coming many ages; he wrote, “to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time (pro pantos tou aiōnos, “before all the age”) and now (nyn)[90] and forever” (eis panta tous aiōnas, “unto all the ages”) (Jude 25); (e) The resurrected Christ is seated at the right hand of God, Paul stated, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age (tō aiōni toutō) but also in the one to come (tō mellonti)” (Eph 1:21). Concerning this statement Hoehner astutely observes that “in Ephesians there is not the cessation of time . . . but there is a time division between the present and future ages. The word aiōn, ‘age,’ consistently refers to ‘age’ or a period of time in Ephesians.”[91] As was the case elsewhere, so it is here that time is an integral part of each age, as one age follows another. (f ) In similar ways Paul spoke of “the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations (apo tōn aiōnōn kai apo tōn geneōn)” (Col 1:26), and the author of Hebrews considers those who “have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come (mellontos aiōnos)” (Heb 6:5), again showing a sequence of ages, and thus also of time.

Ages Upon Ages Continue Indefinitely

Scripture specifies that the ages do not cease; rather they continue on indefinitely. Paul recorded concerning God “that in the ages to come (en tois aiōsin tois eperchomenois) He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:7). “The setting for this manifestation of God’s grace is spelled out by means of the temporal phrase ‘in the ages to come’ . . . . The plural ‘ages’ is not simply a stylistic variation of the singular, but a more general conception, implying ‘one age supervening upon another like successive waves of the sea, as far into the future as thought can reach.”[92]

Scripture also uses the phrase “forever and ever,” referring to age following age for the unlimited future of time. The Greek phrases include the following: (a) eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn (“unto the ages [plural] of the ages [plural]”) (Gal 1:5; see also Phil 4:20; 1 Tim 1:17; 2 Tim 4:18; Heb 13:21; 1 Pet 4:11; Rev 1:6; 4:9, 10; 5:13; 7:12; 10:6; 11:15; 15:7; 19:3; 20:10; 22:5); (b) eis ... tou aiōnos tōn aiōnōn (“unto the age [singular] of the ages [plural]”) (Eph 3:21); (c) eis ton aiōna tou aiōnos (“unto the age [singular] of the age [singular]”) (Heb 1:8); (d) eis aiōnas aiōnōn (“unto ages [plural] of ages [plural]”) (Rev 14:11).

Conclusion

This article has explored the significance of the declaration in Rev 8:1 that when the seventh seal was opened “there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” Most commentaries focus attention on the question of “why” this silence occurs, and nine possibilities were enumerated. The view that the silence is a dramatic pause signifying awe and dread as the heavenly hosts await the coming events was seen to be most consistent with the context of Revelation.

The main issue examined, however, was: how can there be a thirty minute time interval in the heavenly, eternal scene? Can time and eternity coexist? To answer those questions, this article considered what time is, and showed how both Old Testament and New Testament words for “eternal” actually have within them the inherent concept of time. This was followed by a summary of four suggestions as to how time relates to eternity, concluding that the view most in accord with Scripture is that God existed before time and ages, is timeless prior to His creation, and afterwards is omnitemporal. The article concluded by demonstrating that God is the One who created the ages, those which are past, that which is current, and those which are to come, and with those ages He created time. Since some Scripture texts (e.g., Acts 3:21–24; Eph 2:7) indicate that God reveals truth during an age, a working definition of “age” is: a period of time in which God gives revelation of Himself to relate truth to His creatures. Once He created time, then God functions within that time, and will continue to do so indefinitely into the everlasting future revealing Himself to His creatures. Time functions within each age. Therefore, time functions in the heavenly realm just as it does in the earthly. Revelation 8:1 is consistent with this functioning time. John correctly observed that when the seventh seal was opened “there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” That half hour actually existed in heaven, just as it did on earth. Those in heaven will be blessed with all the glories of God, continually learning of Him, for hours, days, years, and ages to come indefinitely and unceasingly. The song writers were correct.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we first begun.[93]

And on that day, when my strength is failing,
the end draws near, and my time has come;
Still, my soul will sing Your praise unending—
Ten thousand years, and then forever more.[94]

Notes

1. R. H. Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, 1920, The International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1979), 1:224.
2. G. B. Caird, A Commentary on the Revelation of St. John the Divine (New York: Harper, 1966), 107. See also Ben Witherington III, Revelation, The New Cambridge Bible Commentary (Cambridge: University Press, 2003), 139.
3. Richard Bauckham, The Climax of Prophecy: Studies on the Book of Revelation (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1993), 70-83.
4. J. Ramsey Michaels, Revelation, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove: IVP, 1997), 117.
5. Grant R. Osborne, Revelation, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 338.
6. Adam Clarke, “Revelation,” Clarke’s Commentary, electronic edition (Seattle: Biblesoft, 2006).
7. David E. Aune, Revelation 6-16, Word Biblical Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998), 508.
8. Henry Barclay Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1951), 106-7.
9. Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22: An Exegetical Commentary (Chicago: Moody, 1995), 2.
10. Craig S. Keener, Revelation, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 254.
11. Matthew Rissi, Time and History: A Study on the Revelation, trans. Gordon C. Winsor (Richmond: John Knox, 1966), 4.
12. Ibid. See also J. P. M. Sweet, Revelation, Westminster Pelican Commentaries (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1979), 159.
13. Gerhard A. Krodel, Revelation, Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1980), 189.
14. G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text, The New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 447.
15. Ibid.
16. Henry Alford, “Revelation,” The Greek Testament, vol. 4, rev. Everett F. Harrison (Chicago: Moody, 1968), 630.
17. Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, “Revelation,” A Commentary Critical, Experimental, and Practical on the New Testament, 1877 (reprinted New York: Doran, n.d.), 571.
18. Thomas, Revelation 8-22, 2.
19. Walter Scott, Exposition of the Revelation of Jesus Christ (London: Pickering & Inglis, n.d.), 178. Italics his.
20. Isbon T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John, 1919 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1967), 550.
21. Michaels, Revelation, 117.
22. Martin Kiddle, The Revelation of St. John, The Moffatt New Testament Commentary (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1946), 144.
23. Others who adhere to this view include: Stewart Custer, From Patmos to Paradise: A Commentary on Revelation (Greenville: BJU Press, 2004), 96; Kendall H. Easley, Revelation, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1998), 142; Dennis E. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation (Phillipsburg: P. & R., 2001) 136; Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, rev. ed., The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 170-71; James L. Resseguie, The Revelation of John: A Narrative Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2009), 142; Thomas, Revelation 8-22, 1-3; John F. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ: A Commentary (Chicago, Moody, 1969), 151.
24. Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, rev. and ed. Frederick W. Danker, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 922.
25. Ibid. Italics in the original.
26. Custer, From Patmos to Paradise, 96, n. 8:1.
27. A. T. Robertson, “Revelation,” Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville: Broadman, 1985), 6:356.
28. Louis A. Brighton, Revelation, Concordia Commentary (St. Louis: Concordia, 1999), 213.
29. Ian Boxall, The Revelation of Saint John, Black’s New Testament Commentary (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2006), 130. Emphasis his.
30. Rissi, Time and History, 6. Beale, Revelation, 453, holds a similar view, but puts the stress on the judgment element.
31. Scott, Revelation, 178.
32. Walvoord, Revelation, 151.
33. Jospeh A. Seiss, The Apocalypse: Lectures on the Book of Revelation (New York: Cosimo, 2007), 182.
34. Ibid. Italics his.
35. Thomas, Revelation 8-22, 3.
36. Stephen S. Smalley, The Revelation to John: A Commentary on the Greek Text of the Apocalypse (Downers Grove: IVP, 2005), 212-13.
37. C. R. Schoonhoven, “Eternity,” The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, rev. ed., ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979), 2:162.
38. J. Scott Horrell, “In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Toward a Trinitarian Worldview,” Bibliotheca Sacra 166 (April–June 2009): 143.
39. Aristotle, Physics, 4.11.14, http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/physics.4.iv.html (accessed May 3, 2012).
40. M. Khan, “What Is Time? What Causes Time?” http://www.timephysics.com (accessed May 3, 2012).
41. Bradley Dowden, “Time,” The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://www.iep.utm.edu/time (accessed May 3, 2012).
42. Eunsoo Kim, Time, Eternity, and the Trinity: A Trinitarian Analogical Understanding of Time and Eternity (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2010), vii.
43. Letter of Albert Einstein, March 21, 1955, quoted in God & Time: Four Views, ed. Gregory E. Ganssle (Downers Grove: IVP, 2001), 134.
44. In addition to Kim’s book, for further discussions on the question, see: Ganssle, God & Time: Four Views; Brian Leftow, Time and Eternity, Cornell Studies in the Philosophy of Religion (Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1991); What God Knows: Time, Eternity, and Divine Knowledge, ed. Harry Lee Poe and J. Stanley Mattson (Waco: Baylor University Press, 2005); and Hugh Ross, Beyond the Cosmos (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1996).
45. For further study on this issue, see James Barr, Biblical Words for Time, Studies in Biblical Theology (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2005); Simon J. DeVries, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Time and History in the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975); E. Jenni, “Time,” The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, ed. George Arthur Buttrick (New York: Abingdon, 1962), 4:642-49; James Lindsay, “Eternity,” International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1949), 2:1011-12; C. H. Pinnock, “Time,” The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, rev. ed., ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 4:852-53; H. Porter, “Time,” International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1949), 5:2981-82; C. R. Schoonhoven, “Eternity,” 2:162-64.
46. P. A. Nordell, “Old Testament Word-Studies: 10. Time and Eternity,” The Old Testament Student, 8, no. 10 (June 1889): 373-77.
47. Jack P. Lewis, “mô῾ēd,” Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke (Chicago: Moody, 1980), 1:388.
48. Leonard J. Coppes, “῾ēt,” Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 2:680.
49. Nordell, “Time and Eternity,” 376.
50. Carl Schultz, “῾ad,” Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 2:645.
51. Nordell, 376.
52. Allan A. MacRae, “῾ôlām,” Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 2:672.
53. John D. W. Watts, Isaiah 34-66, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco: Word, 1987), 238.
54. Richard B. Ludwig, “Sovereignty and Access: Toward a Biblical Description of God’s Relationship to Time,” M.Div. Thesis (Winona Lake: Grace Theological Seminary, 1992), 9.
55. Watts, Isaiah 34-66, 239.
56. Gerhard Delling, “chronos,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, eds. Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976), 9:591.
57. Kim, Time, Eternity, and the Trinity, 25.
58. W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (Westwood: Revell, 1966), 1:41.
59. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 32-33.
60. Hermann Sasse, “aiōn, aiōnios,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976), 1:197.
61. Ibid., 198-202.
62. Ibid., 202-07.
63. Ibid., 207-08.
64. J. Guhrt and H. C. Hahn, “Time,” New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Colin Brown (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 3:832.
65. These are provided in detail in Ganssle, God & Time: Four Views. They are also concisely summarized in Kim, Time, Eternity, and the Trinity. A comprehensive philosophical approach to this subject is given by Brian Leftow, Time and Eternity, Cornell Studies in the Philosophy of Religion (Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1991).
66. Paul Helm, “Divine Timeless Eternity,” God & Time: Four Views, 28-91.
67. Ibid., 28. For examples, see Augustine, Confessions, 11.13 in A Select Library of the Nicene and-Post- Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, ed. Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, rpt. 1979), 167-68; and City of God, 11.21 in Post-Nicene Fathers, 216; Anselm, “Proslogium,” 19-20, in Saint Anselm: Basic Writings, 2nd ed., trans. S. N. Deane (LaSalle, IL: Open Court Pub., 1962), 25; Charles Hodge held that God is in the “eternal now.” See Hodge, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, rpt. 1979), 25; William Shedd said God’s eternity can be viewed as the “eternal now,” or the “universal present,” see Shedd, Dogmatic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971), 1:342-50.
68. Ibid., 31.
69. Kim, Time, Eternity and the Trinity, 151.
70. Nicholas Wolterstorff, “Unqualified Divine Temporality,” God & Time: Four Views, 188.
71. Ibid., 190. Italics his.
72. Kim, Time, Eternity, and the Trinity, 165.
73. Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time (New York: Bantam, 1988).
74. Alan G. Padgett, “Eternity as Relative Timelessness,” God & Time: Four Views, 107.
75. Ibid.
76. For examples, see the following works by William Lane Craig: “God, Time, and Eternity,” Religious Studies 14 (1978): 497-503; The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe (San Bernardino: Here’s Life, 1979); “God and Real Time,” Religious Studies 26 (1990): 335-47; “Tense and the New B-Theory of Language,” Philosophy 71 (1996): 5-26; Time and Eternity: Exploring God’s Relationship to Time (Wheaton: Crossway, 2001); and “God, Time, and Eternity,” in What God Knows, ed. Poe and Mattson, 75-93.
77. Craig, “Timelessness & Omnitemporality,” God & Time: Four Views, 160.
78. Ibid., 130.
79. Ibid.
80. Ibid., 132.
81. Hugh Ross suggests another possibility, which is that we should conceive of time as multidirectional and multidimensional, that dimensions exist beyond the four which we experience: length, width, breadth, and time. Among those multidimensions are extra time dimensions. See Hugh Ross, Beyond the Cosmos (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1996). Ross argues that God can exist in these many time dimensions and that is the solution to the time-eternal question. In an interaction between Ross and Craig, Craig argues that while “string theory” can be used to show the possibility of additional dimensions, those are always “spatial dimensions, not temporal dimensions [italics his],” and it is “a metaphysical extravagance to postulate a hyper-time,” See Craig, “God, Time, and Eternity,” What God Knows, ed. Poe and Mattson, 90.
82. Homer A. Kent Jr, The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1974), 218. Similarly, David L. Allen, Hebrews, The New American Commentary (Nashville: B&H, 2010), 111, writes that “aiōnas includes the space-matter-time continuum that is the universe, the totality of all things existing in time and space. It seems best to include both the temporal and spatial idea in the term.” Peter T. O’Brien, The Letter to the Hebrews, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010), 52, likewise asserts that this refers to “the whole created universe of time and space.”
83. Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, eds., Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1988), 514.
84. Harold H. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 456-57.
85. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 974.
86. David L. Turner, Matthew, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008), 690-91.
87. Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 459 n. 45.
88. Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary (Downers Grove: IVP, 1993), 668.
89. Darrell L. Bock, Luke 9:51-24:53, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005), 1623.
90. The Greek adverb nyn is a “temporal marker with focus on the moment as such, now” or a “temporal marker with focus not so much on the present time as the situation pert. at a given moment, now, as it is” (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 681).
91. Hoehner, Ephesians, 282.
92. Peter T. O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 173.
93. John Newton, “Amazing Grace,” public domain, published in 1779.
94. Jonas Myrin and Matt Redman, “10,000 Reasons,” (Brentwood: Sixstepsrecords/Sparrow records, 2011).