What Time Is It?

 

I recently dreamt that I was attending a large congress held at a hotel, and it is the last day of conference activities. My mother calls and says I should get home before midnight, as my father is there. I realize that the home where I grew up is a 3-hour car ride from the hotel; I still have to pack; and I have no idea what time it is.

I have to attend the last lecture, for which I’m already late. A well-known Broadway director is lecturing and gives me a dirty look as I try to sneak in unobtrusively. I look for a seat in the darker part of the auditorium, but the only empty seat there is a high chair, like a director’s chair.

Once settled in, I look around for clocks but there aren’t any. When the lecture is over I leave and look for clocks in the hallways and lobby but there are none. I’m surprised to find myself in what looks like an ICU. Seven patients are in beds with monitors and lines, each with a clock over the bed, but they all show different times. One of the clocks is like a melting Dali clock with all the numbers on the left side.

There is only one staff member present, a nurse. I ask if she knows what time it is and she yells, “Can you please keep your voice down!” She points to the clock behind her, on which the hands show 9:50, and says “It’s 10:10.” I reply “You mean 10 till 10?” She yells again, “Can’t you even tell time?”

As I realize I’m not going to make it home in time, or accomplish what I need to before time runs out, I awaken in a panic.

When contemplating the meaning of the dream, the overriding theme seemed to be not having enough time to do what needed to be done, and even worse, not knowing how much time was left.

Much of my professional life has been spent in large conference or meeting settings, first as an academic neurologist teaching, giving lectures, or as an expert witness in a courtroom. More recently, my husband and I have danced at competitions or performances held in large hotels, venues or theatres. Deadlines and time constraints always loomed large in these settings, but at least the boundaries and expectations were clear.

The dream had more of a sense of urgency, as I didn’t know when I would be called upon or how much time had already elapsed. I had to return to my parents’ home, which I believe symbolized Heaven, as both parents have passed into eternity. I didn’t know how much time I had to get there, only that there were many demands on my time before I left.

Arriving late to the lecture and not being able to sneak in suggests that I already feel like I am falling behind in the race God has set before me (1 Corinthians 9:24; Hebrews 12:1), and that my tardiness will be found out. The elevated chair may represent attention falling on my being late, or perhaps that I will unexpectedly be called on to speak or to assume more of a leadership role. We are to be ready to witness to the Gospel any time – in season or out of season (2 Timothy 4:2).

But again the nagging question – how much time do I have before the Lord calls me home, or before the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54), when no born-again Christian (John 3:3-8) will be left behind to complete the Lord’s unfinished business?

In the dream I sensed time was running out, but there were no clocks to tell me how quickly. The clocks in the ICU were all set to different times, perhaps reflecting the different numbers of days remaining that the Lord has appointed to each of us (Psalm 90:10). The surrealistic, distorted clock with all the numbers on the left side of the face may indicate how time seems to move more swiftly the older we get.

Perhaps the nurse did not want me to upset the patients by alerting them to the lateness of the hour, for her yelling at me suggested that noise levels were not her main concern. She did nothing to clarify how late it was, but chided me for being able to figure it out for myself.

Once we are saved by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), our time is not our own, for we are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). The hour is coming when no man can work (John 9:4), and when we will give an account at the judgment for how we spent our time, talent and treasure when we had the opportunity (1 Corinthians 3:13-15).

We are not promised tomorrow (James 4:14), and no man knows the day or the hour of our Lord’s return (Matthew 24:36,44; 25:13). But we do know that it is one day closer today than it was yesterday, and that yesterday’s hours are gone forever.

Man has created a “Doomsday Clock,” predicting the time of Earth’s apocalyptic destruction based on the likelihood of nuclear war and other annihilating forces. The planet has never been closer to midnight than we are now – just seconds away. But man’s “wisdom” pales next to God’s infinite knowledge of eternity past and eternity future.

Although no one knows when the Rapture will occur, Jesus taught us about the signs of the times (Matthew 16:3), indicating His soon return. As He predicted (Matthew 24), these have been like labor pains, intensifying in frequency and intensity. Just browse the headlines and you’ll see it all unfolding – wars, rumors of wars, plague, famine, evil running rampant, false prophets, apostasy, family members killing one another, earthquakes, signs in the sky, with blood-red moons (Joel 2:31; Acts 2:20) and even blood-red skies, recently reported in China.

May we not be alarmed by these devastating events but rather reassured that Christ’s plan is unfolding before our eyes, and that His return is ever so near. May we redeem the time in these evil days (Ephesians 5:16), and be not weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not! (Galatians 6:9). May we look up, for our redemption draws nigh! (Luke 21:28).

© 2022 Laurie Collett

 

 

Telling Time

Photo by Manisha1607 2015

I have never been able to enjoy the convenience of knowing the time by consulting a wrist device. As a young girl, I was blessed to receive several beautiful time pieces from a Swiss watchmaker who was a dear friend of our family. Despite their fine craftsmanship, they would adorn my wrist for only a few days or weeks before they would mysteriously stop ticking.

At first my parents thought I had treated them carelessly, but even when they restricted my wearing of them to Sundays and special occasions, they would cease to function without explanation. In high school it was important that I know the time so that I would not be late for classes or for the train I took to school and to ballet practice. So my parents bought me a series of supposedly reliable Timex watches, advertised to “take a licking, and keep on ticking.” But to no avail – each one stubbornly refused to keep time while attached to my wrist.

We all finally concluded that I was one of those strange individuals who emits a magnetic field that stops timepieces in their tracks. Even today, I wear a Fitbit but have no cell phone, and my Fitbit won’t tell the time unless it is synched to a cell phone, so I am bereft of an external timepiece. 

Thankfully, I was blessed with a fairly accurate internal clock, which allows me a good sense of time elapsed and keeps me punctual for appointments. Even upon awakening during the night, I generally can guess the time within 15 minutes even before looking at the clock. 

Long before timepieces were invented, God enabled mankind to tell time by the sun, moon and stars, which He set in motion to create the natural divisions of days, months and years (Genesis 1:14). Sundials use the motion of the sun through the sky to mark the passage of hours by the shadow cast by the sundial’s hand. Modern clocks use the frequency of vibration within atoms to mark the passage of time with astonishing precision. 

God even designed our bodies (Psalm 139:14) with biological clocks, such as circadian clocks that regulate the ebb and flow of hormones within a daily cycle, and endocrine signals triggering monthly cycles in the female reproductive tract. Each individual cell in our body can undergo a limited number of divisions before time runs out and the cell undergoes apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Since Adam and Eve sinned, the curse of death has plagued mankind (Genesis 3:19), so that our once unlimited lifespan has progressively shortened to approximately threescore and ten, or 70 years (Psalm 90:10). 

Even more important than our being aware of the passage of time is understanding the signs of the times in which we live. Jesus Christ chided His disciples for knowing that new leaves on a fig tree herald the soon appearance of summer (Mark 13:28) and that red skies foretell the day’s weather (Matthew 16:3), but for being unaware of the signs of God’s unfolding prophecy. 

In Matthew 24, Jesus detailed the signs that would presage His second coming: false prophets claiming to be the Messiah; wars and rumors of wars; famines, pestilences, and earthquakes; Christian persecution; and increasing sin and depravity, accompanied by spiritual coldness and lack of love even for one’s own family. 

All we have to do is to browse the Internet, turn on a news channel, or open a newspaper to see these signs of the times in abundance. False teachers and cults have drawn many away from faith in Jesus Christ, Son of God, and in His death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6). Wars continue in the Middle East and political tensions grow between the US and China, and other nations. 

Worldwide famine, particularly in Africa and Asia, has resulted from drought, extreme weather, and even locusts and murder hornets, which threaten the bumblebee population and could thus prevent crop pollination. The COVID-19 pandemic is a modern-day plague, its death toll adding to chronic illnesses such as heart disease and cancer, while new forms of swine flu and a few recent cases of bubonic plague also raise health concerns.

Earthquakes continue to increase in severity and frequency, not only throughout the Ring of Fire, but also in unusual locations. 

Persecution of Christians is now widespread and increasing, with martyrs in many nations facing imprisonment or death for refusing to renounce their faith. In the United States we are still blessed to be able to worship freely, but recent regulations have banned large assemblies and congregational singing. 

Corruption, moral depravity, violence, destruction of property, drug use, and murder, including abortion as legalized murder, are raging worldwide. Mothers are abandoning or selling their children for drug money; family violence is on the rise; and “honor killings” have claimed the lives of those who dare to denounce their family’s religion. Division is rampant in our countries, political parties, and even our churches. 

So surely we are in the End Times, and Christ’s return must be drawing near. Yet even in the days of the early church, Christians believed that His return was not only imminent, but would occur in mere days or months. No man knows the day or the hour of His return, but only the Father in Heaven (Matthew 24:36). Still, we do know with certainty that we are 2,000 years closer to His return than when He ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:9-11). 

As Christians, we need to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15), and understand the difference between the two phases of Christ’s return. The first phase, or Rapture of the saints to meet with Christ in the air, will occur suddenly and without warning (1 Thessalonians 3:13-18; 5:1-2; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58). 

After the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21-31), in which God deals with the nation of Israel to recognize Jesus Christ as their promised Messiah, the second phase will take place. Christ will return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 17:14) to defeat the enemies of Israel, and ultimately to defeat Satan, sin and death (Revelation 19:11-21). Once the Rapture has occurred, the events of the second phase can be timed precisely, based on Daniel’s prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27). 

How then should we now live, knowing that Christ is on His way? He warned us that the day is coming in which no Christian can work, because we will no longer be on earth (John 9:4). The apostle Paul urged us to be stedfast, unmoveable, and ever abounding in the work of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58), and to be fervent in our Father’s business, serving Him while we have the opportunity (Romans 12:11).

Let us eagerly anticipate the glorious resurrection that awaits us, in which we will have glorified bodies (1 Corinthians 15:35-50) that never age, get sick, sin or die! Let us remember that we shall be rewarded in Heaven for things we do on earth to further God’s kingdom (1 Corinthians 3:10-15), provided our motives are pure! 

Truly these are telling times in which we live. May we recognize the signs of the times, though the days are evil, and redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16) for His glory!

© 2020 Laurie Collett