Beginnings and Endings

Time is a continuum. And it has a past, a present, and a future. The present is easy to understand because we live our entire lives in that dimension. The past and the future are concepts that are also simple to describe and understand. However, the farther back we go into the past and the further we venture into the future, our memories, concepts, and visions begin to fade. Finally, the question of when our universe began, if indeed it had a beginning, and when it will all end, if it ever will, become questions that our finite minds can’t comprehend. The idea of infinity, by its very nature, is beyond our thinking capacity.

Although our rational minds can’t truly comprehend the great time scope of our universe, it hasn’t stopped us from spending a great deal of our time pondering this most intriguing of all human questions. The concept of eternity and the infinite are just plain difficult to totally comprehend. And while written information on beginnings and endings, eternity, and infinity is very sparse and sketchy at best, the Bible has quite a bit to say on this subject.

Many of our great scientific minds of today can at best theorize that our universe may have begun 10 to 15 billion years ago in a whirlwind of activity that saw a cataclysmic explosion propel our universe into existence. Yet, these same scientists have little to offer us regarding where the original matter came from. Clearly, if they have difficulty in explaining when everything began, they have even a harder time in telling us when and if things will ever end.

No book in the history of mankind has had more impact on our world with respect to how we view time than the Bible. No book has had more influence in every area of our lives today than the Bible. Even the most prestigious encyclopedia in the world, the Encyclopedia Britannica, acknowledges this awesome impact by devoting over 100 pages to discussing this one book. Not only has the Bible established how we keep time, not only has it helped describe our history throughout time, but it has proven itself to stand the test of time by being a book that is timeless.

With credentials such as these, when the Holy Scriptures speak regarding beginnings and endings, at the very least our curiosity should be stirred to examine what it has to say on the subject. The name of the very first book of the Bible, Genesis, means “coming into being, origin.” The first chapter of this first book of the Bible gives us a very detailed account of how the universe, day and night, the planets and stars, the animals, the ground and water, and even man were created. Genesis 1 has been analyzed and debated, and has enchanted and fascinated mankind, more than any other chapter ever written.

Its beauty of presentation is undeniable. Its explanation of how our universe and world began is simple yet profound. Even its plausibility is far more appealing than that of the “so-called” scientific explanation we just explored. Every skeptic, who may have never read the Bible, at least owes it to themselves to at least read Genesis chapter 1.

And what happens to someone at death? This single question has preoccupied our minds perhaps more than any other. It is only appropriate that the Bible addresses this issue at great length. In fact, the New Testament mentions eternal life over forty times. If the question of what happens to you when you die is something that interests you, then the Bible definitely has answers to this most important question. By the time you finish reading this devotion and add 24 hours of time, approximately 300,000 people will have passed into eternity. At the moment of their departure into this dimension, where they will spend eternity becomes the only question on their minds. Again, before you are ready to take your leap into eternity, you owe it to yourself to explore the most provocative and exhaustive exposition of eternal life ever written.