The Nature of Time
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 8 viewsTime is very precious. Use it wisely
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
Introduction
2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
Body
Body
Secular Concept of Time
Secular Concept of Time
The concept of time is self-evident. An hour consists of a certain number of minutes, a day consists of a certain number of hours, months of days and years of months. But we rarely, if ever, stop to consider the fundamental nature of time.
Time is passing by, relentless, non-stop. We can track its progression with watches and calendars, yet we cannot see it. We can’t touch or taste it, analyze it under a microscope or catch some of it and test it. Despite this, time just keeps passing. Moving forward. Tomorrow turns into today, and today turns inexorably into yesterday.
What happens when time passes? What is the exact astrophysical, temporal, natural process that is in effect whereby time exists, and seems to exist in a very linear fashion only.
People all down through the ages have spoken about it. Thought about it. Lately have even experimented with it, albeit indirectly. Some quotes:
“It’s amazing how a little tomorrow can make up for a whole lot of yesterday.” — John Guare
“Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time’ is to say ‘I don’t want to.’” — Lao Tzu
“It’s not that we have little time, but more that we waste a good deal of it.” — Seneca
“Time moves slowly, but passes quickly.” — Alice Walker
“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.” — Albert Einstein
“Time is a great healer, but a poor beautician.” — Lucille S. Harper
“Why didn’t I learn to treat everything like it was the last time. My greatest regret was how much I believed in the future.” — Jonathan Safran Foer
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward.” — Soren Kierkegaard
In physics, time is considered a fourth dimension along with length, height, and depth
Einstein discovered that time is affected by intense gravity and published that idea in his Theory of General Relativity
For example: as you get closer to a black hole an observer on the outside will perceive you slowing down, and eventually freezing in place
Meanwhile, you will perceive time as accelerating outside the spaceship. The effect is relative to the observer, thus, relativity
He also deduced that time is affected by very high speeds, and that as you approach the speed of light time slows down
For example: as your spaceship approaches the speed of light, clocks within the spaceship will tick on at their regular rate
But when you get back to earth, you may find that, according to you, you’ve been gone only a year, but to people on Earth you’ve been gone seventy years!
Divisions of Time
Divisions of Time
Past
Past
The past is a term used to indicate the totality of events which occurred before a given point in time. The past is contrasted with and defined by the present and the future. The concept of the past is derived from the linear fashion in which human observers experience time and is accessed through memory and recollection. In addition, human beings record the past, and have done so since the beginning.
The past is the object of such fields of study as history, memory, archaeology, archaeoastronomy, chronology, geology, historical geology, historical linguistics, law, ontology, paleontology, paleobotany, palaeogeography, paleoclimatology, and cosmology.
Present
Present
The most real perception of time appears to be in the moment we call present, however almost all of what we perceive as the present is already past. The present is a fleeting moment; whatever is happening now (present) is confined to an infinitesimally narrow point on the timeline which is being encroached upon by what we think of as the past and the future. Present resembles the sharp point of a recording laser or needle.
Future
Future
The future is what will happen in the time after the present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist can be categorized as either permanent, meaning that it will exist forever, or temporary, meaning that it will end. The future and the concept of eternity have been major subjects of philosophy, religion, and science, and defining them non-controversially has consistently eluded the greatest of minds. In the Occidental view, which uses a linear conception of time, the future is the portion of the projected time line that is anticipated to occur. In special relativity, the future is considered absolute future, or the future light cone.
In the philosophy of time, presentism is the belief that only the present exists and the future and the past are unreal. Religions consider the future when they address issues such as karma, life after death, and eschatologies that study what the end of time and the end of the world will be. Religious figures such as prophets and diviners have claimed to see into the future.
Future studies, or futurology, is the science, art and practice of postulating possible futures. Modern practitioners stress the importance of alternative and plural futures, rather than one monolithic future, and the limitations of prediction and probability, versus the creation of possible and preferable futures.
Biblical Concepts of Time
Biblical Concepts of Time
1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
God has created time, and declared every process in His creation would fit somewhere on His time line
God
God
1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
3 Thou turnest man to destruction; And sayest, Return, ye children of men.
4 For a thousand years in thy sight Are but as yesterday when it is past, And as a watch in the night.
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
This is the origination of time
There was no thing called ‘time’ before God created everything
God exists outside of this time line.
Man
Man
9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: We spend our years as a tale that is told.
10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; And if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, Yet is their strength labour and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? Even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
12 So teach us to number our days, That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
We have a beginning
We are very much bound to this time line
We don’t have a lot of it, so use it wisely
Time helps us get things done
Deadlines and due dates
Physical age
Some things we might want to do can only be done while we’re young
Start a career
Travelling, especially physically demanding travel
Play a sport
Marriage, raising a family
Some things we might want to do because of the realization i’m not guaranteed tomorrow
When we have a consciousness of our end, we begin to realize how precious every moment is
Relationships vs. money
Eternal things vs. secular
Salvation
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
The Apostle Paul speaks of these divisions of time here; past, present and future
Past - “Forgetting those things which are behind,”
Future - “Reaching forth unto those things which are before,”
Present - “But this one thing I do, … “I press...”
Salvation is something that takes place only in the present
13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)