Eternity is just like infinity - it goes on forever - except that it deals specifically with time. You might even say that eternity exists outside of time.
What is time anyways?
It is a construct that we created to quantify and categorize our finite existence. Did you know that there are cultures, such as the Piraha and Amondawa Tribes of the Amazon, and the Hopi Tribe of the south-west United States, that do not have words or measurements for time at all.
We talk about things happening in minutes, hours, days, years… But where did those measurements come from?
Some people say that the universe is 14 billion years old, and that the earth is 4 billion years old. But if a year is measured by the time it takes the earth to go all the way around the sun, how could you measure time by that before the earth even existed? And then take into account that the earth is actually slowly moving away from the sun, which means each year is actually slightly longer than the last because the earth has to go slightly farther to get all the way around the sun, and you find that a year is not even a constant measure of time anyways.
Further, according to Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, if a person or object (traveler) is travelling at a faster speed compared to an observer, time actually moves slower for the traveler than for the observer. So the passage of time depends both on the speed of the traveler, and the speed of the observer. The closer the traveler gets to the speed of light, the slower time passes for the traveler compared to the observer. If the traveler could travel at the speed of light, time would stop, or cease to exist, for the traveler.
One really interesting point that I would like to make about that is that only light can travel at the speed of light, and time does not exist (or you could say it stands still) at the speed of light. So, light does not experience time .
In reality, time is such a fickle measurement that it is almost completely unreliable outside of mundane tasks like setting an alarm clock, or showing up to an event. I submit as evidence: the differing number of days in a month, leap years, time zones, daylight savings time, the need to synchronize watches, time flies when you’re having fun, and if you want to see the problems physicists face with it do a search for “the problem of time” and take a look at what “the experts” struggle with.
So, when we say that God is eternal, we are really saying that God is not influenced or burdened by our concept of time. He just is, always and forever. He cannot be measured in years because years are measured by the sun and the earth, and God created both of them - on different “days” no less.
God is not bound by time. He knows that we rely on it, and sometimes He relates to us in terms of it, but He also doesn’t constrain Himself to it. Like when Jesus said that He is coming soon - there is no solid definition of soon, it is relative to the the speaker’s perspective - and Jesus has an eternal perspective.
We also bother ourselves with concepts of time that do not exist. We reflect on the past, and worry about the future, but we never actually experience either of these. We only ever experience the present moment - the timeless now. Our minds betray our experience by drawing us into fantasies of things that could have been, or things that might someday be. And these fantasies never materialize. We are only ever able to be where we are, as we are.
Even though eternity can be thought of like infinity, it actually is not a timeline that goes on and on in both directions because there is no time for it to span across in either direction. No. Eternity is only the ever-present now, which knows no concept of past or future. It is our own notion of time that plays tricks on our minds. But when you understand yourself as an eternal creation of an eternal God, you will begin to understand that being present with Him is our chief end, and you can only ever be present with Him NOW. So put away the games that the mind tries to play with the concept of time, and continuously bring your attention into the present moment and focus on being with our ever-present, eternal God, now and always.
Psalm 90:2 (NLT) Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.
Psalm 102:12 (NLT) But you, O LORD, will sit on your throne forever. Your fame will endure to every generation.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 (NLT)For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.
What do people really get for all their hard work?
I have seen the burden God has placed on us all.
Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.
John 3:16 (NLT) “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Hebrews 13:8 (NLT) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
2 Peter 3:8 (NLT) But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.