"When we step from this World into the next, we are ushered into eternity."

Someone recently pointed out that the infinity sign is the number 8 on its side.  And what is infinity applied to time but eternity?

Several weeks ago I had posted proposing that "The Day of the Lord" as being when the heavens and the earth, all that we see above us, (the heavens), and all that we see below us, (the earth), are destroyed.  This, for our material world, also ushers in eternity.     The material universe, matter, for that matter, ceases to exist.

Why is the interpretation that our universe must at some time in the future cease to exist, necessary?  Because this material universe, BY IT'S NATURE, decays.  We know that the fuel in our sun cannot last forever, (eternity).  We know that before the fuel
gives out the size of our sun will most likely cause it to enlarge in size and burn to a crisp all the planets within its vicinity.

It is recorded, although not in the Bible, that God told the decendants of Seth that he would destroy the earth by water and by fire.  In their limited understanding they built two testaments to future generations, one made of fired brick, which they believed would survive any fire, and one built of stone, which they believed would survive any flood.  Only the one built of stone, known as the "Great Pyramid", survived after the flood.

The Bible records that there will be a "new heaven" and a "new earth".  It doesn't state that God will remake the burned out "Earth", third planet from the sun, to make it habitable again.

But why the 8th Day?  Okay, man's lease on this earth is said to be 7000 years or 7 of the Lord's days.  So the end of these 7 days would be the 8th day.  But it is much more that.  In the beginning as recorded in Genesis, on the first day of the Lord, there was night, (chaos), and then there was day, (order).  The word night can be translated chaos and the word day can be translated order.  The Lord created order out of chaos on the Lord's 1st day.  On the Lord's 2nd day, the same thing happened, the Lord created order out of chaos.  This continued until finally on the Lord's 7th day, He rested.  And just as Jesus rested in the grave on the 7th day, He rose on the 8th day.  And there is an 8th day of the Lord coming at the end of Man's lease on this universe of 7000 years where the ultimate order is created out of chaos.  As this universe has unwound the past 6000 years, the universe has become more and more chaotic.  The ultimate removal of this chaos, the only way that it can be declared forever regarding removing this chaos, this inherent decay, that, "it is finished", is by the removal of this material universe.

"Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.  For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.  And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.  I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.  Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger."  Isaiah 13:9-11

Shalom-
Ted Porter