The opening chapter of the Bible describes how God created the universe in seven days (well, six if you exclude the Sabbath). I find this account intriguingly circular, since a 'day' (and indeed time itself) is a feature of the very universe that was being created. Think of it this way: if a 'day' is defined as a rotation of the earth around the sun, how could God have created the earth and the sun within a matter of days? The answer must be that there were Days before there were days (see Daniel 7). In other words, a 'day' is a divine, spiritual phenomenon, and not only an earthly or physical one.
Indeed, the Bible depicts each day as a miniature life, a life within life. We are instructed to ask for daily bread (Matthew 6:11), to carry our cross daily (Luke 9:23), and to choose each day whom we will serve (Joshua 24:15; see also Hebrews 3:7-15). Characters throughout the Bible wake up early when they have an important mission to complete (e.g., Joshua 6:15; 2 Chronicles 29:20; Mark 16:2), as if they were awakened by God Himself (Isaiah 60:1). His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23; see also Psalm 30:5, 46:5), and we must be wary of letting our anger outlast the day (Ephesians 4:26); for if each day is a microcosmic life, then each night is a microcosmic death, which must be fully completed if are to be reborn anew when the next day comes (2 Corinthians 4:16). In sum, a Biblical perspective conceives each and every day as sacred.
If each day is sacred, then so too are its circadian rhythms and quotidian activities. The book of Ecclesiastes contains perhaps the most lucid exposition of this insight. In a particularly relevant passage, the exceedingly wise Solomon declares: "Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart." (Ecclesiastes 5:18; see also 2:16, 3:1-8, 6:3). I cite this passage in particular because it reveals so much about the holiness of days (i.e. daily holiness, i.e. daily wholeness). According to Solomon, a meaningful life can only be attained if we embrace and even rejoice in the mundane - in our eating, drinking, and working - rather than trying to change our future (out "lot") or fretting about the past ("the days or [our] li[ves]"). We don't have many days, he tells us, so we should treat each day as special. As the psalmist expressed it, "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24).
Solomon's wisdom betrays a fundamental yet neglected fact of reality, namely that we can only ever live in the immediate present. Just as I can only ever be in one place at a given time, so I can only ever be in one time at a given place. Of course, I can return to the same place at different times; but thanks to the inextricability of time from space, there is a sense in which I would be 'elsewhere' in the universe if I were to do so. If I am here, I am here now. This would still be true, moreover, even if time travel were possible: even if I could jump to a different time, that time would simply become my 'now' rather than remaining part of my past or my future. Indeed, every point in my past was once my 'now', while every point in my future will eventually be my 'now'.
Solomon seemed to appreciate that, although we can only live now, we often try to live in the past or the future. Perhaps we can't dislodge a sense of regret over a past decision, constantly toying with futile speculations over 'what if'; or perhaps we are fixated on the future outcomes that such a decision could potentially entail. Whether we cling to a time that is no longer our 'now' or one that is not yet our 'now', the result tends to be counterproductive for our present-day 'now' - which will eventually become our past, and which our future will eventually become. This may be why the Bible exhorts us not to "call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past" (Isaiah 43:18), nor to be "anxious about tomorrow" (Matthew 6:33; see also James 4:14). Rather, our perspective is to be at once momentary and eternal; we should view each day on Earth in light of Heaven, and even pray that Heaven would come to Earth in our day-to-day lives (Matthew 6:8-10).
With that said, Solomon perceived that not only are the moments which compose each day sacred, but so too are the larger units of time which are composed of days, and ultimately moments - weeks, months, years, seasons, and so on, all of which contain their own divine rhythms (e.g. Ecclesiastes 3). The week, of course, featured in the creation story along with the day, with the number of constituent days (7) symbolising perfection and completion. The seventh day of the Sabbath rest is worthy of particular note, since Christ has allowed to enjoy that 'day' every day (Hebrews 3:7-4:13). Prophetic passages, too, are often denominated in terms of days, weeks, and years. Unfortunately, however, many Christians with an eschatological penchant have interpreted these scriptures as merely timelines of past or future events. The resultant perspective, which conceives us as merely waiting for events to transpire, just as past events have transpired, is exactly the opposite of the one I am proposing here. On the contrary, I would argue that prophetic chronologies are more than timelines: like all scriptures, they relate to 'the present day' not only by virtue of what has happened or what will happen, but also by what simply 'happens' [1].
To take an elementary example, you can never have 'eternal life' in the future, since you can never live in the future; you can only ever live in the ever-moving 'now'. There is a real yet paradoxical sense, therefore, in which our 'now' is at once transitory and permanent. Although time cannot hold eternity, perhaps the timeless moment can. The same could be said for the spiritual unit of a day, which for God is equivalent to "a thousand years", i.e. an indefinitely long period of time (2 Peter 3:8). Obviously, in a fallen world, our days are not as they should be, not least because they are finite; hence Paul, after reminding the Ephesians that they are "children of light", implores them to "[make] the best use of of the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16, emphasis added). On the other hand, it is a particular day, the so-called "Day of the Lord", which will herald the end of time itself (e.g. Amos 5:18-20; Acts 2:20; 2 Peter 3:10). This "Great Day" - the "last day" to end all days - will herald the eternal day (Revelation 22), to which Christ has already begun to awaken us (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; Romans 13:12; 2 Peter 1:19).
When I was thinking of a way to describe this perspective, the phrase that came to mind was "the eternal now". Hoping that I had coined this pithy expression, I then proceeded to Google it, as one does. Alas, it turned out that "the eternal now" was already taken - by the perennially annoying New Age movement, no less. Notwithstanding its occultic connotations, however, I still believe the phrase is worth salvaging. Indeed, part of what I've tried to do in this post is provide a Biblical commentary on secular or satanic pretensions of "living in the here and now", "seizing the day", or "taking each day as it comes". These practices are not in themselves errant; it's just that they are futile without Christ, who brings us into the eternal day (Isaiah 9:2; Matthew 4:14-16; Luke 1:76-79). By the same token, I have also issued an admonishment to those Christians who would dispose of such practices altogether. Surely 'living in eternity now', a pet phrase of Christian teachers, means exactly that - living in eternity now.
Note
Indeed, the Bible depicts each day as a miniature life, a life within life. We are instructed to ask for daily bread (Matthew 6:11), to carry our cross daily (Luke 9:23), and to choose each day whom we will serve (Joshua 24:15; see also Hebrews 3:7-15). Characters throughout the Bible wake up early when they have an important mission to complete (e.g., Joshua 6:15; 2 Chronicles 29:20; Mark 16:2), as if they were awakened by God Himself (Isaiah 60:1). His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23; see also Psalm 30:5, 46:5), and we must be wary of letting our anger outlast the day (Ephesians 4:26); for if each day is a microcosmic life, then each night is a microcosmic death, which must be fully completed if are to be reborn anew when the next day comes (2 Corinthians 4:16). In sum, a Biblical perspective conceives each and every day as sacred.
If each day is sacred, then so too are its circadian rhythms and quotidian activities. The book of Ecclesiastes contains perhaps the most lucid exposition of this insight. In a particularly relevant passage, the exceedingly wise Solomon declares: "Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart." (Ecclesiastes 5:18; see also 2:16, 3:1-8, 6:3). I cite this passage in particular because it reveals so much about the holiness of days (i.e. daily holiness, i.e. daily wholeness). According to Solomon, a meaningful life can only be attained if we embrace and even rejoice in the mundane - in our eating, drinking, and working - rather than trying to change our future (out "lot") or fretting about the past ("the days or [our] li[ves]"). We don't have many days, he tells us, so we should treat each day as special. As the psalmist expressed it, "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24).
Solomon's wisdom betrays a fundamental yet neglected fact of reality, namely that we can only ever live in the immediate present. Just as I can only ever be in one place at a given time, so I can only ever be in one time at a given place. Of course, I can return to the same place at different times; but thanks to the inextricability of time from space, there is a sense in which I would be 'elsewhere' in the universe if I were to do so. If I am here, I am here now. This would still be true, moreover, even if time travel were possible: even if I could jump to a different time, that time would simply become my 'now' rather than remaining part of my past or my future. Indeed, every point in my past was once my 'now', while every point in my future will eventually be my 'now'.
Solomon seemed to appreciate that, although we can only live now, we often try to live in the past or the future. Perhaps we can't dislodge a sense of regret over a past decision, constantly toying with futile speculations over 'what if'; or perhaps we are fixated on the future outcomes that such a decision could potentially entail. Whether we cling to a time that is no longer our 'now' or one that is not yet our 'now', the result tends to be counterproductive for our present-day 'now' - which will eventually become our past, and which our future will eventually become. This may be why the Bible exhorts us not to "call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past" (Isaiah 43:18), nor to be "anxious about tomorrow" (Matthew 6:33; see also James 4:14). Rather, our perspective is to be at once momentary and eternal; we should view each day on Earth in light of Heaven, and even pray that Heaven would come to Earth in our day-to-day lives (Matthew 6:8-10).
With that said, Solomon perceived that not only are the moments which compose each day sacred, but so too are the larger units of time which are composed of days, and ultimately moments - weeks, months, years, seasons, and so on, all of which contain their own divine rhythms (e.g. Ecclesiastes 3). The week, of course, featured in the creation story along with the day, with the number of constituent days (7) symbolising perfection and completion. The seventh day of the Sabbath rest is worthy of particular note, since Christ has allowed to enjoy that 'day' every day (Hebrews 3:7-4:13). Prophetic passages, too, are often denominated in terms of days, weeks, and years. Unfortunately, however, many Christians with an eschatological penchant have interpreted these scriptures as merely timelines of past or future events. The resultant perspective, which conceives us as merely waiting for events to transpire, just as past events have transpired, is exactly the opposite of the one I am proposing here. On the contrary, I would argue that prophetic chronologies are more than timelines: like all scriptures, they relate to 'the present day' not only by virtue of what has happened or what will happen, but also by what simply 'happens' [1].
To take an elementary example, you can never have 'eternal life' in the future, since you can never live in the future; you can only ever live in the ever-moving 'now'. There is a real yet paradoxical sense, therefore, in which our 'now' is at once transitory and permanent. Although time cannot hold eternity, perhaps the timeless moment can. The same could be said for the spiritual unit of a day, which for God is equivalent to "a thousand years", i.e. an indefinitely long period of time (2 Peter 3:8). Obviously, in a fallen world, our days are not as they should be, not least because they are finite; hence Paul, after reminding the Ephesians that they are "children of light", implores them to "[make] the best use of of the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16, emphasis added). On the other hand, it is a particular day, the so-called "Day of the Lord", which will herald the end of time itself (e.g. Amos 5:18-20; Acts 2:20; 2 Peter 3:10). This "Great Day" - the "last day" to end all days - will herald the eternal day (Revelation 22), to which Christ has already begun to awaken us (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; Romans 13:12; 2 Peter 1:19).
Note
[1] Indeed, the various Greek words associated with the 'end times', such as eschatos, telos, and synteleias, as well as the Hebrew word eth, are translated elsewhere in the Bible to refer not only to temporal finality, but also to timelessness, seasonality, consummation, or spatial finality.
