A Line and a Circle Explains Most Things

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He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end (Ecclesiastes 3:11, NIV).

Consider a simple line. It must have a beginning. Without a beginning, there can be no line. Mathematically, you (not me, because I believe it has a beginning) would be considered foolish to claim a line doesn’t have a beginning. Its existence assumes a beginning.

Now think about time. It must have a beginning. Without a beginning, there can be no time. Time can’t come from “no time” because it takes time for time to exist, and “no time” does not explain time. You would be foolish (not me, because I believe it has a beginning) to believe time opened its eyes and said, “I’m here, let me begin; let there be time with a morning and an evening.”

Let’s illustrate a line with a beginning… 

Now let’s consider a circle. It has no beginning or end. If you don’t believe me, examine the illustration below and try to find a beginning and an end. As the Psalmist writes, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:2).

You should have believed me, as you didn’t find a beginning or an end. Now, let’s place a timeline with a beginning and an end within an eternal circle.

This illustrates eternity and time. Please note the following implications:

1. Time has a beginning within eternity. Jesus said that He is the Alpha and Omega, or the Beginning and the End (Revelation 22:13).
2. We are on the timeline. We remember the past but can’t exactly see the future. As Ecclesiastes 8:7 (NASB1995) reads, “If no one knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen?”
3. God from eternity sees all time!!  He can see the beginning and the end of everything. The Bible also says that God not only sees but also knows our thoughts and motives. Nothing is hidden from God (Psalm 94:11 and Job 28:24).
4. When we are in eternity, we will have God’s view, seeing everything that happened on earth as if it were the present. There is no past or future with God, just eternity. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “We will know as we have been known.” No wonder the evil people of time will call for the mountains to fall on their heads (Revelation 6:16).

We have looked at a line and a circle, which explains most things. One question remains for us all, “What will we think we experience in eternity — grace or fear?” I know that I will be falling on my knees, thanking God for Jesus.