Lesson No. 10

Lesson No. 10 Eternity

About the eternity of God, let's consider what the Holy Scriptures say:

Deuteronomy chapter 33: verse 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”.51

Psalm 10: verses 16 to 18: “The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land. 17LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: 18To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress”.51

Other mentions of the Holy Scriptures about this attribute of God, we find in Psalm 135: verse 13 where the psalmist expresses saying: Thy name, O LORD, endureth for ever; and thy memorial, O LORD, throughout all generations.51

Also, in Jeremiah chapter 10: verse 10, it says the following: But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.51

Similarly, in Genesis chapter 21: verse 33 declares: And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.51

Let's also see the declaration of the apostle Paul according to Romans chapter 16: verse 26, where it says: …According to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.51

God is eternal. This means that He has no beginning of days, nor end of life. In this case, it is also necessary to make a comparison with other existing beings. Experience tells us that all the beings that populate our universe are contingent beings, meaning that they have a beginning and an end of existence. The stated is scientifically verified, every being that begins to exist, in due time ceases its existence and vice versa.

As scientific proof that demonstrates the truth of this concept, we have the disintegration of the atom. Some materialistic-leaning scientists affirm that matter is eternal, not created, but has existed and will always exist. However, science has proven that, with the disintegration of the atom, matter transforms into energy and ceases to exist as such. This, therefore, constitutes proof that the attribute of eternity belongs only to God. All this despite the new speculations of modern scientists.

This attribute is in close relation to that of self-existence. If God were not eternal, He would have had to begin to exist at some point, and for that, someone would have had to give Him existence. If so, He would not be God, as stated before, but rather that other who created Him. Since, for Him to be God, He must have self-existence and be eternal.

It is necessary also to consider that there are beings like angels and other celestial orders, whom God created to remain forever, that is, to be eternal concerning the future, while they are not concerning the past, so it is not proper to call them eternal, but rather imperishable. What is properly eternal is that which has no beginning or end, and this property belongs only to God.