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Rosaline_L
Guest
Like the title says.
Since time doesn't exist in eternity, what is it like to live in a plane of existence without time?
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Beryllos
Guest
I don’t know – how can we possibly imagine? – but it’s probably better than what it’s like to live here and now.
St. Paul wrote in his First Letter to the Corinthians:
St. Paul wrote in his First Letter to the Corinthians:
and
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0Scarlett_nidiyilii
Guest
Not to be flippant, but you’d have to ask God 
I tried to imagine it once, but I sprained my brain.
I tried to imagine it once, but I sprained my brain.
Tis_Bearself
Patron
How would we know?
J
JohnSadblack
Guest
If time doesn’t exist, you wouldn’t be aware of it.
Actually, time doesn’t exist. It’s just a way for us to represent the movement of an object in space.
Actually, time doesn’t exist. It’s just a way for us to represent the movement of an object in space.
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Zaccheus
Guest
I think time does exist in eternity. It’s just that it’s without end, so a lot of what we know or think we know about time will not apply.
Eye has not seen, ear has not heard…
Eye has not seen, ear has not heard…
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MyPurpose
Guest
Unless there are solid Biblical or dogmatic statements stating otherwise, we have no reason to believe that time doesn’t exist in the afterlife. The biggest problem here is that people tend to get Eternal Life confused with Infinity. Generally, one could say that there are three “tiers” to creation’s relationship to time: Temporal (has beginning and end), Eternal (in this case, has beginning, but no end), and Infinite (beyond time).
Even in the afterlife, God, Christ, and Paraclete alone will be Infinite. The rest of us will “just” possess eternal life.
I’d even argue that the Bible has solid evidence against the prospect of us transcending time, as Matthew states: “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
How can the Angels and Saints simultaneously be at the Final Judgment and not know when it’s going to happen? How can we, as saints, exist at the very moment that these prophecies will be fulfilled, and yet lack the capabilities to sense the precise time or find a nearby calendar? There has also been no indication that Heaven has since been “briefed” on these matters.
While these are perhaps less reliable than the concrete statements I made earlier, it is also important to note that everyone who has claimed to have visited Heaven through a mystical or near death experience was able to chronologically list the activities therein. Some may express uncertainty over how exactly long they were there, none of them expressed any doubts over the existence of time there. With that said, time doesn’t seem to behave the same way up there (according to private revelations).
One man in particular claimed that 3 days on Earth would equal exactly 15 minutes in Heaven, which is consistent with people who have claimed to have been in Heaven for mere seconds before returning back to Earth minutes to hours later.
Edit: For reference, when I refer to “Eternity”, as it pertains to humans, I am referring particularly to Eternal Life, which differs in nature from God’s inherent Eternality. The word “eternity” doesn’t just mean without end, but without beginning too, however, we know that humans don’t possess this type of eternality since if we did, that would mean that the Apostles would simultaneously exist before and after Adam and Eve, for instance, which makes no sense. Holding the belief that humans have God’s inherent transcendent eternality also means that, before Abraham was, Padre Pio would be, which, if true, invalidates the very point that God was making when He made that statement.
Perhaps, when considering a saint’s relationship with Heaven, and the afterlife, it would be safe to assume that we haven’t transcended, but rather, “mastered” time. This belief is more consistent with the Scriptures and abundance of Private Revelations.
Even in the afterlife, God, Christ, and Paraclete alone will be Infinite. The rest of us will “just” possess eternal life.
I’d even argue that the Bible has solid evidence against the prospect of us transcending time, as Matthew states: “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
How can the Angels and Saints simultaneously be at the Final Judgment and not know when it’s going to happen? How can we, as saints, exist at the very moment that these prophecies will be fulfilled, and yet lack the capabilities to sense the precise time or find a nearby calendar? There has also been no indication that Heaven has since been “briefed” on these matters.
While these are perhaps less reliable than the concrete statements I made earlier, it is also important to note that everyone who has claimed to have visited Heaven through a mystical or near death experience was able to chronologically list the activities therein. Some may express uncertainty over how exactly long they were there, none of them expressed any doubts over the existence of time there. With that said, time doesn’t seem to behave the same way up there (according to private revelations).
One man in particular claimed that 3 days on Earth would equal exactly 15 minutes in Heaven, which is consistent with people who have claimed to have been in Heaven for mere seconds before returning back to Earth minutes to hours later.
Edit: For reference, when I refer to “Eternity”, as it pertains to humans, I am referring particularly to Eternal Life, which differs in nature from God’s inherent Eternality. The word “eternity” doesn’t just mean without end, but without beginning too, however, we know that humans don’t possess this type of eternality since if we did, that would mean that the Apostles would simultaneously exist before and after Adam and Eve, for instance, which makes no sense. Holding the belief that humans have God’s inherent transcendent eternality also means that, before Abraham was, Padre Pio would be, which, if true, invalidates the very point that God was making when He made that statement.
Perhaps, when considering a saint’s relationship with Heaven, and the afterlife, it would be safe to assume that we haven’t transcended, but rather, “mastered” time. This belief is more consistent with the Scriptures and abundance of Private Revelations.
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Wesrock
Guest
I haven’t done much research into “aeviternity,” which is the scholastic word to describe the mode of existence of the angels and of the saints in heaven (prior to the resurrection). It has its own word to distinguish it from God’s eternity, as there is still (so far as I understand it) a type of movement in angels and the saints in heaven that there isn’t in God, even if it’s non-temporal.
I’d like to be able to discuss further, and please take my description with a grain of salt, but I haven’t done the research, yet. Still, I’m providing the word as it may help you research what the medieval theologians (such as Thomas Aquinas) thought about it.
I’d like to be able to discuss further, and please take my description with a grain of salt, but I haven’t done the research, yet. Still, I’m providing the word as it may help you research what the medieval theologians (such as Thomas Aquinas) thought about it.
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Sundiver
Guest
This is time dilation or contraction depending on your point of view.
So time is perceived in eternity but, maybe we are not bound by the physical laws of time unless we choose to be? Maybe that is one of the benefits of being in heaven.
Possibly, nothing ages in eternity?
I’ve often thought we would be our own singularity in heaven. Time is known but, we can perceive all linear time from one pivotal point.
Maybe, we can enter into time like a bird dives into an isolated lake.
Possibly, we are not bound by biological cycles, astrological cycles, human societal cycles, weather cycles in heaven. Imagine, we could be independent of the cycles of earthly existence or we can become, temporarily, part of it.
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Pat_Albertson
Guest
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fide
Guest
It is an intriguing question. The closest we can get to the Beatific Vision while on this side of it, is contemplative prayer. In contemplative prayer, it has been reported as a “moment” with God - in profound peace and rest, time “suspended”. Maybe eternity is a series of such “moments”, which can change to be other “moments” in other “places” with other persons, at will, as love calls.
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tafan2
Guest
This is pretty much where I am on the issue. Not knowledgable to comment fully, but there is a “level between” time here on Earth and God’s eternal existence.
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JimR-OCDS
Guest
St Augustine wrote on it in the Confessions
Bottom line is, learn to be in the present moment, for it’s all that exist and where God is.
Jim
Bottom line is, learn to be in the present moment, for it’s all that exist and where God is.
Jim
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YoungCatholicGuy
Guest
The bible explains this:
‘There will be no more old age. There will be no more sicknesses or disease or infirmities. There will be no more night.’
Basically: eternal youth and no more night, no more decay and loss that comes with time/ aging
‘There will be no more old age. There will be no more sicknesses or disease or infirmities. There will be no more night.’
Basically: eternal youth and no more night, no more decay and loss that comes with time/ aging
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Finn
Guest
Boethius has some good writing on this, basically asserting that only God is atemporal. He uses this position to resolve potential conflict between omniscience, determinism and free will.
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JerryZ
Guest
Actually Time does exist. It is one of the Dimensions that the human brain can comprehend.
As for “moving through space” those are the other 3 dimension that again our brain can comprehend that make up our Universe.
Time does have a beginning. When the Universe we live in was created roughly 13.8 Billion years, the four dimensions that we can directly feel were created.
These are typically represented in Physics with the letters X, Y, Z, and T.
In heaven there is no time, but it seems that those admitted to it can see what is going on here on Earth and presumably since they were aware of time while alive can fully somehow “feel it” still there.
A passage in the Bible that perhaps points to this is in Revelation of John:
6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw, under the altar, the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of God and because of the testimony that they held.
6:10) And they were crying out with a loud voice, saying: “How long, O Holy and True Lord, will you not judge and not vindicate our blood against those who dwell upon the earth?”.
6:11) And white robes were given to each of them. And they were told that they should rest for a brief time, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who were to be slain even as they were slain, would be completed.
As for “moving through space” those are the other 3 dimension that again our brain can comprehend that make up our Universe.
Time does have a beginning. When the Universe we live in was created roughly 13.8 Billion years, the four dimensions that we can directly feel were created.
These are typically represented in Physics with the letters X, Y, Z, and T.
In heaven there is no time, but it seems that those admitted to it can see what is going on here on Earth and presumably since they were aware of time while alive can fully somehow “feel it” still there.
A passage in the Bible that perhaps points to this is in Revelation of John:
6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw, under the altar, the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of God and because of the testimony that they held.
6:10) And they were crying out with a loud voice, saying: “How long, O Holy and True Lord, will you not judge and not vindicate our blood against those who dwell upon the earth?”.
6:11) And white robes were given to each of them. And they were told that they should rest for a brief time, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who were to be slain even as they were slain, would be completed.
J
JohnSadblack
Guest
There is no such thing as a 4th dimension for the simple reason that we live in a 3 dimensional world, our Universe is in 3D. A 4th dimension is nothing more than science fiction used by some scientists.
I remember a video on YouTube where a nuclear engineer compares our notion of 4th dimension in a 3D world to a notion of 3rd dimension for someone living in a 2D world (In French however. So I’m not sure if you’ll be able to understand it ‘^’)
Time is a unit of measurement created by man to measure movement in space just as space is a unit of measure for measuring distance and directions.
Also, because these notions were created by man (To understand his surroundings), there is a possibility that it can be entirely wrong (Because humans aren’t perfect).
Space and time don’t exist in the Universe, distance and movement do.
I remember a video on YouTube where a nuclear engineer compares our notion of 4th dimension in a 3D world to a notion of 3rd dimension for someone living in a 2D world (In French however. So I’m not sure if you’ll be able to understand it ‘^’)
Time is a unit of measurement created by man to measure movement in space just as space is a unit of measure for measuring distance and directions.
Also, because these notions were created by man (To understand his surroundings), there is a possibility that it can be entirely wrong (Because humans aren’t perfect).
Space and time don’t exist in the Universe, distance and movement do.
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